Although TikTok services have resumed within the United States, the app remains unavailable for re-download via the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. As a result, numerous platforms are vying to capture TikTok’s user base. For instance, the decentralized social service Bluesky recently announced the introduction of a feature called “Trending Videos,” offering vertically formatted short videos akin to TikTok’s content. This service also allows users to interconnect content through hashtags.
Currently, Bluesky’s Trending Videos feature remains in its testing phase, with many of the short videos evidently sourced from TikTok. However, Bluesky has yet to disclose details about the algorithms underpinning these videos.
Meanwhile, X has also followed suit by launching vertically formatted short video content, signaling its intent to attract users from TikTok’s market. Instagram, on the other hand, has revealed plans to introduce a new mobile editing tool called “Edits,” aiming to encourage more users to create and quickly upload video content to the platform for sharing.
In a recent statement, former President Donald Trump, during his renewed tenure, announced an executive order to extend the deadline for enforcing the TikTok ban. This extension aims to facilitate consensus-building to ensure U.S. national security remains uncompromised. Additionally, Trump emphasized that any future joint venture involving TikTok must ensure that American companies hold at least a 50% stake, thereby guaranteeing a degree of control over the new entity.
Trump’s remarks suggest that TikTok’s services could resume operations within the U.S., relieving companies like Oracle and Akamai—previously involved in managing TikTok’s U.S.-based services—from potential legal liabilities that could have amounted to billions of dollars in fines.
Nonetheless, TikTok’s reinstatement on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store remains unaddressed by Google and Apple, leaving its availability in their digital marketplaces unresolved.
