TikTok has bypassed restrictions in the US that prevent users from downloading the app on an Android device.
The Chinese-owned app was banned in the US in January due to fears that it could be used to collect private data of citizens or spread propaganda through its algorithm. TikTok has denied these claims.
US President Donald Trump, who came into office on 20 January, signed an executive order delaying the nationwide ban, however the app remains unavailable through the Apple and Google app stores.
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TikTok, which has around 170 million users in the US, is now allowing people to download and update the app on Android devices without going through the Google Play store.
Through a process known as sideloading, US-based users can install the app through TikTok’s website.
“We're enhancing ways for our community to continue using TikTok by making Android Package Kits available... so that our US Android users can download our app and create, discover, and connect on TikTok,” the company wrote in a post to its official TikTok Policy account on X.
Apple does not allow apps to be sideloaded to iPhones or iPads, however TikTok is still available through a web browser on those devices.
We're enhancing ways for our community to continue using TikTok by making Android Package Kits available at https://t.co/JoNVqKpnrS so that our U.S. Android users can download our app and create, discover, and connect on TikTok.
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) February 8, 2025
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TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has until April to find a US-based buyer in order to avoid a complete ban, according to President Trump’s executive order.
Potential buyers include YouTube star MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
“I just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires,” MrBeast said in a video posted to TikTok in January. “TikTok, we mean business... We have an offer ready for you, we want to buy the platform, America deserves TikTok.”
President Trump has tasked Vice President JD Vance with brokering a deal to allow the app to continue operating in the US.
