Apple is keeping TikTok on the App Store as the forced-sale saga continues to unfold. Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa
Despite the absence of a confirmed deal for TikTok’s U.S. operations, Apple is reportedly keeping the app on its App Store – at least for the time being.
This latest development in the TikTok divestment saga follows strong indications of a sale agreement. Last week, just days ahead of the (already-extended) cutoff for ByteDance to find a buyer for TikTok U.S., VP Vance communicated that a purchase announcement could arrive before the weekend.
However, the situation changed on the heels of the White House’s major tariffs rollout. Soon thereafter, ByteDance (a piece of which belongs to the Chinese government) put the proposed deal on ice; the much-used video platform is undoubtedly factoring into trade and tariff talks.
The twist prompted another extension for the stateside TikTok ban, we reported. Said extension will run well into June – meaning no matter how the episode ultimately plays out, U.S.-based TikTokers won’t lose access overnight.
But what about TikTok’s presence on the App Store and the Play Store? As we learned earlier in the forced-sale fiasco, besides being unavailable to download, TikTok when booted from app marketplaces cannot deliver all-important updates to existing users.
When it comes to the App Store, it looks like TikTok will remain in place during the 75-day extension, Bloomberg reported. Though Apple has yet to comment publicly on the matter, the decision to leave TikTok in place reportedly arrived after AG Pam Bondi provided related legal “assurances.”
Those same assurances presumably reached Google as well; the company also has yet to weigh in on the matter with public remarks, but TikTok is still live on the Play Store.
Of course, in light of (among other things) the above-highlighted trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, it remains to be seen when and whether the TikTok deal will formally wrap. Nevertheless, we previously took an in-depth look at the possible ownership particulars, post-transaction timetable, and more.
In the bigger picture, TikTok’s U.S. fate is irrelevant to many in the music industry – though evidence and logic suggest that some would strongly prefer to see the app remain alive.
Separately, competitors including the revamped Triller, Instagram Reels, Snapchat, and YouTube Shorts are actively looking to capitalize on the TikTok uncertainty. And notably, these varied efforts aren’t confined to the short-form side. (Before the ban topic took center stage, TikTok itself had for a while been embracing longer videos, with YouTube essentially doing the opposite via Shorts.)
To name one current example, YouTube’s upcoming Coachella coverage will livestream performances via Shorts. That refers to “DJ sets” streamed “in your YouTube Shorts feed both weekends,” the platform said of the “vertical livestream.”
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