TikTok releases its own official APK to get around the Google Play Store ban
TikTok was briefly banned in the US a few weeks ago, only to return a day later after Donald Trump took office and signed an executive order giving ByteDance time to find a new buyer.
Oddly enough, since the initial ban, which lasted a few hours, TikTok has been unavailable on the Google Play Store and the App Store and is still not back in the US at this time.
This has led to many users selling their iPhones and many other mobile phones at exorbitant prices that had TikTok installed on them.
So, in the midst of this uncertainty, where TikTok can't be found in major app stores in the US, ByteDance came up with an idea, which is basically to release an official APK so that anyone who wants to can download it.
TikTok has announced that through its website, APK can now be downloaded for Android users.
This way, Android users in the US have a safe way to restore TikTok if they uninstall the official app or want to install it on a new device.
The new TikTok APK in the US will allow users to view, follow, and interact with creators, as well as create their own posts, but they won't be able to use some features like TikTok Live and TikTok Shop.
Both the regular version of TikTok and TikTok Lite can be downloaded if you're in the US through the new official page.
This is not necessary in other countries, because TikTok is available in official app stores without any kind of restrictions.