Desperate American TikTokers looking for a solution after the beloved social app went down are having a hard time getting around the ban.
On Sunday, users are just starting to realize that the Chinese-owned app remains dark even when using a VPN.
VPNs can trick websites and apps into thinking the user is in a different country. VPNs are commonly used in countries where repressive governments restrict access to social media – such as Iran, China, or Russia.
But TikTok has ensured that its closure cannot be evaded so easily.
“Whoever said a VPN will work after TikTok is banned will go straight to hell,” one frustrated user wrote.
Another added: “I went through the process of setting up a VPN to access tiktok and it still doesn't work.”
TikTok chose to shut down at midnight on Sunday, rather than sell its US business and comply with the mandate of the law passed by Congress in April.
Anyone trying to access the app does not encounter a message stating that it is working with President-elect Trump to find a solution.
Trump, who takes office on Monday, has proposed a temporary halt to the ban until he can negotiate a 50% US ownership of the app.
Members of Congress who supported the ban said TikTok could not return to the United States so as not to fall into the hands of China.
TikTok's US shutdown appears to block any accounts created in the US, even if users have a VPN turned on.
The Post also confirmed that trying to access the site using a VPN from within the US is unsuccessful – even without an account.
After the app went dark early Saturday for 170 million Americans, angry app users vented their frustration on X and Instagram — where many looked for quick fixes or hacks to bypass a federal law that banned the app after it failed to find a new owner .
“PSA: VPNs don't work if your TikTok account is created in the USA. 'You'll have to create a whole new account' in 'another country,'” one person wrote on X.
“Just turned on a VPN for Canada and TikTok still doesn't work,” another TikTok user wrote on X.
There seem to be some solutions. Some users have claimed that using a VPN on a computer allows access to the app – but only if the account is created outside the US.
TikTok's complete shutdown is similar to its tactic in the Chinese enclave of Hong Kong. It announced it would withdraw in the wake of strict national security laws there – in an attempt to allay concerns about Chinese government control.
TikTok is already banned in mainland China – Chinese citizens instead use Douyin, a TikTok app with Chinese characteristics.
Simple VPNs also cannot hack app blocking there.
Both apps are owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.
The app's shutdown was widely expected after the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a congressional law requiring the platform's Chinese-owned parent to divest its stake in the company by January 19 or face a national ban.
