Apple and Google will not return a ban on TikTok in the U.S.: a first step towards a resolution of the Trump-Russian standoff

Apple and Google have returned TikTok to mobile app stores in the U.S., ending a nearly month-long standoff between the tech giants and the video platform since a law banning the app took effect in January.

But on Thursday, Apple and Google received a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi informing the companies that the Trump administration will not prosecute them for supporting TikTok, according to sources familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Lawmakers in Washington fear ByteDance is ultimately answerable to the Chinese government, which could make Americans’ data and political views potentially vulnerable to a foreign adversary.

If a deal is made to sever TikTok from ByteDance the law allows the president to repeal the ban, if he can show congress that. President Trump has said that negotiations are underway, and that he would like the U.S. to have a 50% stake in the video app.

A group of American investors are putting together a bid to acquire TikTok’s US operation, as reported by NPR last month. Under such a deal, ByteDance could retain a minority stake in the video service, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks who were not authorized to speak publicly about the deliberations, which are still underway.

The creator of Mr. Beast and the former owner of the Dodgers both said they were interested in buying the business.

It was a powerful gesture, signaling that Trump’s intentions to save the app from the ban was enough for TikTok to restore its web support.

How to get TikTok back on your phone if you deleted it after the ban? A case study on how to remove a VPN from an ISP

Find and install a VPN that can identify you as coming from that country. There are two that have been recommended to me by my coworkers, both of which are NordVPN and ProtonVPN.

is a reviews editor who manages how-tos and various projects. She’s worked as an editor and writer (and occasional sci-fi author) for more years than she cares to admit to. She is posted on Threads as ‘barbarask’.

You can choose between the smaller version of TikTok and the larger version that takes up 409MB. The Lite version is meant for older, slower phones and for use with slower internet connections. Select which one you want to download.

Once the download is done and you’ve selected Open, you may get a notice telling you that your phone isn’t allowed to install unknown apps and that you have to change that in Settings. There will be a link to your Settings in the notice; tap it.

If you want to be safe from other outside apps being installed on your phone, you can go back into Settings > Apps > Special app access > Install unknown apps > Chrome and toggle Allow from this source off.

However, whether I used TikTok in Safari or Chrome on an iPhone, I found I was unable to create a video. Every time I tried, I got a notice that the site was trying to open another app (my iPhone’s camera), and when I hit Allow, it tried to go to the App Store to download the nonexistent TikTok app.

Source: How to get TikTok back on your phone if you deleted it after the ban

How to Avoid the Pop-Up Frustration of Using TikTok Apps Without Using a VPN or an Android App Store

This is not even mentioning the frustration of the constant pop-ups and nudges telling me that I could “Get the full app experience” by downloading the app — which, of course, wasn’t available to download.

When TikTok initially disappeared, one of the main suggestions (besides moving to a different app) was to use a VPN to “fool” your phone or computer into thinking that you weren’t in the US. And if you’re a TikTok creator who uses an iPhone, you don’t seem to have many other alternatives right now, short of finding an iPhone that still has a working app or going Android.

Apple makes sure that users are visiting the correct app store. Getting around that involves jumping through quite a few hoops and ultimately may not work out — it’s a lot more work than simply downloading a VPN and setting your location to somewhere outside the US.