TikTok has been officially banned in the United States and is set to take effect on January 19th- a date that is fast approaching.  This day has been looming in the minds of millions of TikTok users who are wondering what exactly will happen when the highly debated ban for the social media giant finally occurs.

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While there is no shortage of people who believe that TikTok will become 100% unusable beginning on January 19th, that is not entirely true.  It is a common misconception that the app will cease to work in its entirety when the date arrives.  But realistically, there isn't really a practical way the government can prevent current users from using it.

Having said that, relax. You can continue to use the app after January 19th.  But how?

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Users who have the app already installed on their phones will still be able to use TikTok after the ban.  The issue lies with new users or devices that do not have the app installed.

On January 19th the app itself will be removed on the Apple and Google Play store, so installing it on new devices will become problematic.  However, it is also not impossible.  The app could possibly be sideloaded on the device.  SIdeloading is a method of installing applications in a non-traditional way- the traditional way usually being installed via the store.  But that usually requires a jailbroken Apple device or a rooted Android.

The best advice for anyone who is looking to continue to use TikTok after January 19th is to simply have it installed and already in place when the day arrives.  But to be realistic, it is still unclear whether or not users will continue to get app updates.  That remains to be seen.  Something that may become a problem later down the road, but for now at least we will still be able to enjoy TikTok in the short term.

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