As the dreaded day of January 19th approached, nobody knew what would become of TikTok. Rumors of the supposed TikTok ban had been swarming the internet all month, but with so much conflicting information and gossip, it was unclear what would actually happen.
After hearing news about the approaching ban, many American users looked for other similar apps to help fill the void for when TikTok would eventually be deleted. Some flocked to Instagram reels, others to Youtube, and a trend emerged of switching to a Chinese based app called Xiaohongshu, otherwise referred to as Red Note by its American users. What drew users in was the app’s similar layout to TikTok with the ability to scroll, comment, like, and favorite short videos of their interests. One major issue of the app was the language barrier between English speakers and Chinese speakers, but both were welcoming and friendly towards one another, even learning more about the different languages.
As January 19th came closer, users shared their nostalgia of the app by bringing back old trends and popular videos from when TikTok was at its most popular point, in 2020.
What came as a surprise though was that TikTok did not delay the ban and instead banned it Saturday night, unexpected to those who thought it would be banned later the next day. If you tried to go on TikTok after the ban, a pop up notification would show apologizing for TikTok not being available and that a law banning the app had been enacted, you would then only be able to click the option close app, redirecting you off the app.
However, even though everyone thought it would be banned for a very long time, the app became available again around 14 hours later. If you still had the app downloaded on your phone, you would be able to access it again. Many were ecstatic with the return, but some people didn’t have hope for its return and instead deleted the app. With the app not being available on the app store anymore, some people, like junior Ariella Parsons-Weeks, had to think outside the box: “With TikTok off the app store, I decided to switch my region to Canada in order to get it back. I used a VPN and changed my settings saying that I lived in Canada and I was able to redownload the app. I’m glad I was able to get it back since I’ve had the app for so long and have lots of memories on it.”
Nevertheless, TikTok has returned from its short-lived ban and focuses on restoring its services to continue living on in the United States.