REUTERS, Feb 14 — TikTok returned to the US app stores of Apple and Google on Thursday, as President Donald Trump delayed its ban until April 5 and assured the companies they would not be fined for distributing or maintaining the Chinese app.
The popular short video app, used by 170 million American users, started restoring its services weeks after it went dark, as Trump assured that he would revive its access prior to his inauguration.
Tiktok did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Trump’s executive order last month delayed the ban on TikTok for 75 days, temporarily allowing China’s ByteDance-owned company to continue operating in the US.
The companies, which run mobile application stores or digital marketplaces where users can browse, download and update apps, would not face penalties for keeping the TikTok app up and running, the directive said.
TikTok was the second most downloaded app in the US, with more than 52 million downloads in 2024, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Sensor Tower said that last year, about 52 per cent of TikTok’s total downloads were from the Apple App Store, while 48 per cent were from Google Play in the US.
— Reuters
