How to prepare for a TikTok ban, including how to save your content

TikTok has cemented itself as a quintessential entertainment app, offering everything from funny skits and makeup tutorials to social commentary and news. Users should continue to have access to TikTok if it’s already downloaded on their phones, but the app will disappear from Apple and Google’s app stores—so new users won’t be able to download it. This would mean that TikTok wouldn’t be able to send updates, security patches, and bug fixes to users, all of which will degrade the quality of the app and likely lead to security issues. Lauren Hendry Parsons, director of communications at ExpressVPN, suggests users could access their TikTok accounts by using a VPN and changing their phone’s settings to access a nearby country’s app store. However, they might avoid doing so since they’re seeking to maintain friendlier ties with Trump, who now wants to “save TikTok” and could potentially direct the Justice Department to abandon enforcement of the law altogether.