How much would you pay to get TikTok back?
Desperate users are willing to pay big bucks for access to the app after it became unavailable on the Apple App Store and Google Play due to the nationwide ban — meaning if TikTokkers delete the app, they can’t re-download it .
On eBay, smartphones with TikTok still installed fetch hundreds to thousands of dollars, with an iPhone 16 Pro Max with the app going for $5,000 and another iPhone 16 Plus asking for over $3,000.
Some used iPhones are even listed for over $1 million, like one in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The screen protector is perfect for just damaging your phone and it has TikTok,” the ad reads.
“If you deleted TikTok, I’ll sell one of my iPhone 16 WITH TIKTOK INSTALLED $5,000,” offered one person on Threads.
While it seems inconceivable that anyone would shell out over thousands of dollars for the humble app, TikTokkers who accidentally deleted it after the January 19 ban went into effect are now desperate to get it back once access is restored.
At the time, it seemed they didn’t think it would be available for use so soon after dark on Sunday — nor did they realize it wouldn’t be downloadable when it came out again for US users.
As a result, former users begged for help on online forums, asking people for solutions to bring back the app.
“I deleted TikTok and now I can’t get it back!” one person wrote on X. “I’ll pay someone $5,000 for an iPhone 16 Pro Max with TikTok still installed. DM me.”
“There’s no way to get it back,” one disappointed person wrote on Reddit. “We have to wait for it to ever come back to the app store that doesn’t have an ETA or if it will come back to the app stores.”
“I deleted TikTok the day it was banned because I thought it was going to be banned for a long time, until 12 hours later it was working again and I couldn’t download it,” one Apple user posted on a discussion board.
“If TikTok is usable and unbanned for users who haven’t deleted it or on devices that still have it, I think it should be put back on the app stores.”
Unfortunately for TikTokkers, it’s not that simple.
In a statement released this week, Apple announced that the company would comply with the law banning the app, despite President Donald Trump’s push for TikTok to find a buyer.
The bill, which “prohibits the distribution, maintenance or provision of online hosting services for an application controlled by a foreign adversary,” has made TikTok — as well as other ByteDance Ltd. such as CapCut, Lemon8, among others – unavailable to download or update at this time.
While former President Joe Biden said he would not enforce the ban, under the law operators who allow downloads or updates could face fees of up to $5,000 per person, meaning stores that offer TikTok, which hosts 170 million users Americans, may be fined. billions.
“The law that Congress passed and the Supreme Court upheld requires Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores if it is still owned and controlled by a foreign adversary today — which it is,” the author and colleague previously said. Hudson Institute senior Michael Sobolik. Post office.
While TikTok is usable for users who still have the app on their phones, it won’t be able to receive service updates from developers, meaning it could eventually become incompatible with operating systems.
“If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device,” Apple said.
“But they cannot be reloaded if deleted or restored if you switch to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible.”
It’s not clear when TikTok, which Trump said would be “worthless” if he didn’t “approve of it,” will be available for download from app stores.
The company was given 75 days to find a US buyer, according to an executive order signed Monday.
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Image Source : nypost.com