It will depend on the actions of TikTok parent ByteDance, President-elect Donald Trump, and some of the largest tech giants in the US. ByteDance could

What could happen to your TikTok app on Jan. 19

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2025-01-17 18:00:16

It will depend on the actions of TikTok parent ByteDance, President-elect Donald Trump, and some of the largest tech giants in the US.

ByteDance could voluntarily shut down use of the app for US users. Anyone trying to open the app would see a message sending them to a website offering an explanation about the ban, according to reports by Reuters and the Information.

TikTok’s lawyer hinted at this possibility when arguing his case before the Supreme Court, which on Friday upheld a US law that bans the app on Jan. 19 unless it is sold to an owner not controlled by a foreign adversary.

On Jan. 19 "at least as I understand it, we go dark. Essentially, the platform shuts down," TikTok's lawyer told the court on Jan. 10.

What the law signed by President Joe Biden actually states is that it will no longer be legal for companies like Apple (APPL) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to allow users to download TikTok from their app stores, nor can cloud-storage companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Oracle (ORCL) host the app.

In that scenario the app won’t "magically disappear" from phones, CNET tech reporter Abrar Al-Heeti told Yahoo Finance, but experts said its performance could weaken over time because TikTok’s parent won’t be able to make app store updates.