It’s Not Just TikTok: These Other ByteDance Apps Are Gone Too


TikTok didn’t last long available in the United States— at least for now. But this is not the only app owned by ByteDance at the moment blocked for US based users.

Before the federally mandated January 19 deadline, TikTok cut off access to anyone who tried to access the app from the US. “A law banning TikTok has been implemented in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use the TikTok app at the moment,” reads a block-screen facing US users when they try to load the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office.

Similar notices appear on other apps owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, which is based in China and sits at the heart of controversy over a popular video app that, at least until Saturday, had 170 million users in the US. Video-editing app CapCut, photo- and video-sharing app Lemon8, and others are now dark in the US.

A federal law passed last year bans apps owned by ByteDance from operating in the US on national security. In reaction to Chinese laws requiring Chinese-based companies to hand over their data to the Chinese government and intelligence agencies, the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) required ByteDance to sell TikTok and its other apps to a non-China-based entity on Sunday.

That sale didn’t happen. As a result, TikTok began blocking US-based users on Saturday, January 18, before the midnight deadline. Because PAFACA bans all ByteDance-powered apps, not just TikTok, users of many of its other apps face the same restrictions.

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

For now, here is the rundown of all the apps that are no longer accessible to US users due to the US ban on ByteDance-owned apps.

TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Shop Seller, TikTok Lite

Not only TikTok, but other apps owned by ByteDance that work for the TikTok ecosystem have also become unavailable along with the main app. These include TikTok Studio (for creators to manage content and check analytics), TikTok Shop Seller (for app ecommerce sellers to manage their business operations), and TikTok Lite (a small and faster version of the original app only available in some countries).

CapCut

CapCut is a free video editing tool, optimized for vertical videos that can be posted on TikTok. It is always the app-of-choice for amateur creators because of its professional features. Some creators also use CapCut to pre-cut videos before uploading them to platforms other than TikTok.

lemon8

ByteDance released Lemon8 in February 2023 as a photo-based social media app. It is known for equality RedNote, a highly successful social media app in China which has also been the destination of many TikTok users who were exiled this week. Some TikTok users have also chosen to switch to Lemon8, but the app has also been taken offline.

Gauth

With Gauth, students can take photos of their homework, and the app can 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 app closing notice this weekend, it “helped 300 million users with billions of questions.”

Hypic

Hypic, launched in 2022, is a photo editing tool with a heavy focus on generative AI tools. It uses AI to help users improve photo quality or turn a photo into a cartoon.

Lark

Lark is a Slack-like workspace communication app. Originally developed for ByteDance’s own internal messages to employees, it has become one of the most used office communication applications in China, with several million active users.

Melolo, Fizzo, MyTopia Books

Poligon, a subsidiary of Singapore-based 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 the only one of those apps that hasn’t ended support for US-based users, and somehow remains available in Apple’s US App Store.

Tokopedia

Tokopedia is one of the largest ecommerce platforms in Indonesia. It was acquired by ByteDance in December 2023 which merged with the TikTok Shop operation in the country after the Indonesian government banned the latter app, QUOTATIONS “the need to protect small business and user data.”

It became unavailable in Apple’s US App Store but remained available in Google’s US Play Store at publication.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    TikTok Banned in US: Here are 8 Alternative Apps

    Byte created by Vine co-founder Dom Hoffman, and it’s now available on Android and iOS. The interface of the app is similar to TikTok. You can upload a video from…

    TikTok has been shut down in the US

    TikTok just ran out of tiktoks as the countdown for the app’s hours ended in the US In the early hours of January 19, the wildly popular short-form video app…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *