The sudden decision by the app store has left many questions unanswered, adding a layer of mystery to the situation. The Chinese-owned app was unexpectedly removed from the stores on January 18 following a ban in the United States coming into effect. When TikTok briefly disappeared, users were greeted with a message stating, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
The notification further explained, “A law prohibiting the use of TikTok has been implemented in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means that TikTok cannot be accessed for the time being. We are optimistic that President Trump has signaled his willingness to collaborate with us on finding a solution to restore TikTok once he assumes office. Please stay tuned for further updates.”
Later that day, the app was back up and running, with the company attributing its return to the support received from President Donald Trump. Following his inauguration, Trump wasted no time in issuing an executive order that put a hold on enforcing the TikTok ban that had been put into place the day before.
This developing story has been contributed to by ABC News’ Max Zahn, and updates are expected. For the latest information, please revisit for any new developments. TikTok’s reinstatement in the Apple and Google app stores was reported on abcnews.go.com.
