- Users going to extreme measures to access app
- One iPhone listed for $4.5 million on eBay
- Who’s going to buy TikTok?
It’s been nearly a week since TikTok went dark and was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores after the US ban went into effect.
Despite TikTok coming back online shortly after, it’s still missing from app stores and there’s no indication as to when it will re-appear. Users – particularly those who might have deleted the app – are now considering extreme measures to regain access.
Listings for smartphones preloaded with TikTok have started to appear across online selling platforms with hefty price tags. It seems whilst many are desperate to get back on TikTok, others are seizing the opportunity to make a quick – and potentially big – buck.
Read more: Can I download TikTok on the app store?
The number of buyers remains unclear, but one eBay listing reportedly priced at $50,000 included other apps owned by TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, such as Lemon8 and the video editor CapCut.
An iPhone 15 Pro Titanium with the app installed was listed for $46,800, while another listing for an iPhone X with TikTok had a buy it now price of $12,300.
TikTok loaded iPhone valued at millions of dollars
According to Newsweek, searches for ‘sold only’ eBay items showed one phone advertised as an iPhone 15 with TikTok and CapCut installed that sold for $13,997 two days after the ban came in.
One eBay seller in Raleigh, North Carolina even listed a 128 gigabyte iPhone 15 Pro with TikTok and CapCut installed for more than $4.5 million.
TikTok has about 170 million users in the US and those who technically still have access are free to use it, for now. However, with the app not being available on stores, it means updates to add new features or address any bugs, including potential security flaws, can’t be delivered.
One workaround for users unfortunate not to have the app on their phone and are unwilling to splash out thousands of dollars on a new phone, is to use TikTok in a browser.
Elon Musk linked as potential buyer
The ban is in place until TikTok’s Chinese parent company sells it, though President Donald Trump has delayed the ban until early April. US users saw a pop-up message thanking Donald Trump for restoring the app when they logged back in less than a day later.
Read more: Is Mr Beast buying TikTok?
The world’s richest man and close ally of President Trump, Elon Musk is being heavily linked with buying TikTok. Musk already owns the social media platform X and recently posted his views on there, saying “The current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced. Something needs to change”.
Shortly after becoming President, Trump was asked by a reporter at a news conference if he would be open to Musk buying the platform. “I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes,” he replied.
Trump is reportedly also open to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison buying TikTok. If either billionaire buys the app, it will speed up its return to app stores.
