It’s not just TikTok: After the ban, these other ByteDance apps disappeared

TikTok is not for long Available in the US– at least for now. But it’s not the only ByteDance-owned app available right now Blocked for US users.

Shortly before the federally mandated January 19 deadline, TikTok cut off access to the app to anyone from the United States. “A law banning TikTok has gone into effect in the US. Unfortunately, this means you will not be able to use the TikTok app for now,” reads the block screen that US users face when trying to download the app. “We are happy that President Trump has announced that he will work with us to restore TikTok once he takes office.

Similar notices appear on other apps owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, which, at least as of Saturday, was at the heart of the controversy surrounding the popular video app, which has 170 million users in the United States. Video editing app CapCut, photo and video sharing app Lemon8 and others are now blacked out in the US.

Federal law passed last year It prohibits ByteDance programs from operating in the United States for national security reasons. In response to Chinese law, Chinese-based companies must provide their data to the Chinese government and intelligence agencies The Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemy Control Act (PAFACA) required ByteDance to sell TikTok and its other apps to a non-Chinese entity by Sunday.

This sale did not go through. As a result, TikTok began blocking users residing in the United States before midnight on Saturday, January 18. Because PAFACA bans not just TikTok, but all apps operated by ByteDance, users of its countless other apps face the same restrictions.

PAFACA does not require ByteDance to block users of its US-based apps. Instead, it prohibits any US company from providing any service to “distribute, maintain or update” ByteDance-owned software. As a result, many of these apps are no longer available in Apple and Google’s app stores. That may change after Donald Trump takes office on Monday, but the US president-elect has indicated that he plans to extend the deadline for the sale of TikTok by 90 days. Yes, it’s all very confusing.

For now, here’s a rundown of all the apps that US users can no longer access due to the US ban on ByteDance-owned apps.

TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Store Vendor, TikTok Lite

Not only TikTok, but other ByteDance-owned apps that work for the TikTok ecosystem have also been unavailable along with the main app. These include TikTok Studio (for creators to manage content and check analytics), TikTok Shop Seller (for e-commerce sellers in the app to manage business transactions), and TikTok Lite (a smaller and faster version of the original app, available only in certain versions). countries).

CapCut

CapCut is a free video editing tool optimized for vertical videos that can be posted on TikTok. It is often the software of choice for amateur creators due to its professional features. Some creators also use CapCut to prepare videos before uploading them to platforms other than TikTok.

Lemon 8

ByteDance released Lemon8 in February 2023 as a photo-based social media app. He is known for his similes RedNote, a particularly successful social media app This week in China has been a destination for many TikTok users in exile. Some TikTok users also chose to migrate to Lemon8, but the app also went offline.

Gauth

With Gauth, students can take pictures of their homework and the app will take it too use artificial intelligence to understand the problem and provide step-by-step solutions. It also has other features that help students be more productive while studying. According to the program closing announcement this weekend it “helped 300 million users with billions of questions.”

Hypic

Launched in 2022, Hypic is a photo editing tool with a strong focus on generative AI tools. It uses artificial intelligence to help users enhance photo quality or turn a photo into an animated movie.

Lark

Lark is a workspace communication app similar to Slack. Originally created for ByteDance’s own internal messaging between employees, it has now become one of the most used office communication software in China with several million active users.

Melolo, Fizzo, MyTopia Books

Poligon, a Singapore-based subsidiary of ByteDance, publishes several apps that offer users to watch short vertical dramas (Melolo) or read fiction novels online (Fizzo and MyTopia Books). MyTopia Books is one of the only apps available on Apple’s US App Store that hasn’t discontinued support for users living in the US.

Tokopedia

Tokopedia is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Indonesia. It was acquired by ByteDance in December 2023, merging with TikTok Shop’s operations in the country after the Indonesian government banned the latter application. referring to “the need to protect the data of small merchants and users.”

It became unavailable on Apple’s US App Store, but remains available on Google’s US Play Store as of publication.