TikTok suspends operations in US ahead of federal ban

TikTok users in the US suddenly lost access to the popular platform on Saturday evening, just hours before a federal ban on the app was set to go into effect.

The app was removed from major app stores, including those operated by Apple and Google. Visitors to TikTok’s website were met with a notice confirming the platform’s unavailability, effectively cutting off millions of users from the service.

Upon opening the TikTok app, users encountered a pop-up message stating:
"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office." The app encouraged users to “stay tuned” for further updates.

The platform now provides users with limited options: closing the app or navigating to its website. On the site, users are shown the same message and given the opportunity to download their account data. However, TikTok previously warned that processing these requests might take several days.