TikTok makes app unavailable to US users before the ban

WASHINGTON — TikTok was unavailable to users in the United States on Saturday as a ban on the popular social media platform officially took effect.

TikTok greeted users who opened the app on Saturday night with the message: “Sorry, TikTok is not available right now.”

“A law banning TikTok has been passed in the United States,” the message continued. “Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok right now. We’re fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office. Please stay tuned!”

A spokesman for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night about the app’s message specifically praising the president-elect.

The message then asked users to close the app or learn more. On the website’s landing page, the message had an extra line informing users that they could still log in to download their data.

The app also appeared to have been removed from the Apple and Google app stores in the US, making it unavailable for download.

TikTok has 170 million US users.

Other Bytedance apps including CapCut, Lemon8 and Gauth showed similar messages and also became unavailable to many US users on Saturday evening.

The shutdown of TikTok follows several tense days of uncertainty for the app leading up to Sunday, when a ban on TikTok is expected to take effect in the US.

In April, President Joe Biden signed a law mandating that TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, or TikTok would be banned. The Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, paving the way for the app to be shut down in the US.

But the Biden administration released a statement Friday indicating it would leave enforcement of the law to the Trump administration. Since the law was made, it became deeply unpopular with users and many Americans, and many TikTok users began fleeing to Chinese social media apps.

The Biden administration’s comments that it would not enforce the ban when it takes effect on Sunday created uncertainty over whether the app would be made unavailable or remain online for Americans.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have ruled TikTok a national security threat because it is owned by a Chinese company. TikTok critics argued that the Chinese government could use the app to access Americans’ data or influence the type of content Americans watched.

But the company has pushed back on lawmakers’ concerns, instead painting the looming ban as an issue of free speech and censorship. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has said that the app is safe and secure.

The app’s future is far from certain. Earlier on Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker that he will “most likely” give the app a 90-day extension of Sunday’s deadline for ByteDance to sell the app or have TikTok banned in the US

“The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done because it’s appropriate,” Trump said.

Trump has changed his stance on TikTok. In 2020, he said he would ban the app. Years later, Trump conversely his position before creating his own TikTok account during the 2024 presidential campaign. In a video, Trump said he wanted to “save TikTok.”

In a video message posted on TikTok Friday, Chew thanked Trumpand said the president-elect strongly supported TikTok. Chew cited Trump’s popularity on the app, where he is the most followed US politician with over 14 million followers.

Some TikTok users moved to rival social media platforms to commiserate over the app’s closure.

The popular Liza Minnelli Outlive’s X Account weighed in, warning followers that the actress survived the app, “which forced many people to find new ways to waste time.”

One user compared TikTok for the Detroit Lions because they were both “eliminated by Washington.”

Members of Trump’s administration remain divided over the app, with some, like incoming Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, advocating against Chinese influence on the app, while others, like unofficial government spending watchdog Elon Musk, pushing for TikTok to remain available on the basis of freedom of expression.

On Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The Supreme Court decision was expected and everyone should respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I need time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”

One way TikTok could comply with the law and remain active in the US is if it negotiates a sale of the app to an American owner. Trump could uphold Biden’s decision not to enforce the law, but it is unclear how long that will last.

Users on TikTok have mourned the app’s potential demise earlier this week, with many top creators making compilations of their most viral moments on the app or asking their followers to follow them on other platforms. Many TikTok users have flooded a Chinese app called RedNote in protest against the government, but it poses an even bigger security threat than TikTok, according to experts who spoke to NBC News.