It’s not just TikTok: These other ByteDance apps are gone, too

TikTok is no longer available in the US – at least for now. But it’s not the only ByteDance-owned app currently blocked from US-based users.

Shortly before the federally imposed deadline of January 19, TikTok cut off access to anyone trying to access the app from the United States. “A law banning TikTok has been passed in the US. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use the TikTok app right now,” reads a block screen that confronts US users when they try to load the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok when he takes office.

Similar messages appear on other apps owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, which is based in China and is at the heart of the controversy surrounding a popular video app that, at least as of Saturday, had 170 million users in the United States. Video editing app CapCut, photo and video sharing app Lemon8 and others have now gone dark in the US.

A federal law passed last year prohibits ByteDance-owned apps from operating in the United States for national security reasons. In response to Chinese laws requiring China-based companies to provide their data to the Chinese government and intelligence agencies, Protecting Americans from Foreign Counterintelligence Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) required ByteDance to sell TikTok and its other apps to an entity not based in China by Sunday.

That sale did not happen. As a result, TikTok began blocking US-based users on Saturday, January 18, before the midnight deadline. Because PAFACA bans all apps powered by ByteDance, not just TikTok, users of its countless other apps face the same restrictions.

PAFACA does not require ByteDance to block US-based users of its apps. Instead, it prohibits any US company from providing any service to “distribute, maintain or update” ByteDance-owned apps. As a result, many of these apps are no longer available in the Apple and Google app stores. However, that could change soon after Donald Trump takes office on Monday, with the incoming US president indicating that he plans to extend the deadline for a sale of TikTok by 90 days. Yes, it’s all very confusing.

For now, here’s a rundown of all the apps US users can no longer access due to the US ban on ByteDance-owned apps.

TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Shop Seller, TikTok Lite

Not only TikTok, but other ByteDance-owned apps that work for the TikTok ecosystem have also become unavailable along with the main app. These include TikTok Studio (for creators to manage content and check analytics), TikTok Shop Seller (for e-commerce sellers on the app to manage their business operations) and TikTok Lite (a smaller and faster version of the original app available only in certain countries).

CapCut

CapCut is a free video editing tool optimized for vertical videos that can be posted on TikTok. It is often the app of choice for amateur creators because of its professional features. Some creators also use CapCut to first produce videos before uploading them to platforms other than TikTok.

Lemon 8

ByteDance released Lemon8 in February 2023 as a photo-based social media app. It is known to be similar to RedNote, a particularly successful social media app in China that has also become the destination for many exiled TikTok users this week. Some TikTok users had also chosen to migrate to Lemon8, but the app has also gone offline.

Gauth

With Gauth, students can take pictures of their homework and the app will use artificial intelligence to understand the problem and provide step-by-step solutions. It also has other features that help students be more productive while studying. According to the app notice of closure this weekend it has “helped 300 million users with billions of questions.”

Hype

Launched in 2022, Hypic is a photo editing tool with a heavy focus on generative AI tools. It uses artificial intelligence to help users improve image quality or turn a photo into a cartoon.

Lark

Lark is a Slack-like communication app for the workplace. Originally created for ByteDance’s own internal messaging among employees, it has now become one of the most used office communication apps in China with several million active users.

Melolo, Fizzo, MyTopia books

Poligon, a Singapore-based subsidiary of ByteDance, publishes several apps that allow users to watch short vertical dramas (Melolo) or read online fiction novels (Fizzo and MyTopia Books). MyTopia Books is the only one of these apps that didn’t end support for US-based users, and somehow remains available on Apple’s US App Store.

Tokopedia

Tokopedia is one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platforms. It was acquired by ByteDance in December 2023 and merged with TikTok Shop’s operations in the country after the Indonesian government banned the latter app, cites “the need to protect smaller merchants and users’ data.”

It has become unavailable in Apple’s US App Store, but remains available in Google’s US Play Store as of release.