Topline
A federal appeals court has upheld a federal ban on TikTok that would make the app unavailable to American users starting in January, and while TikTok is doing all it can to reverse the decision, users still have time to save their favorite videos before they potentially disappear.
This illustration shows the logo TikTok on a phone screen.
Key Facts
Using TikTok on desktop is the easiest way to save videos created either by a logged-in account or that have privacy settings that allow them to be downloaded.
Videos with the proper settings on TikTok.com can be downloaded to a desktop computer as .mp4 files by right clicking and choosing “Download Video” (if there is no download video option, the creator of the video has probably changed settings to stop third party downloads).
On mobile, videos can be saved by tapping the Share button in the lower-right corner of the screen when a TikTok video is pulled up, tapping “save video,” and choosing from the list of choices including options to send as an email attachment, upload to Google Drive or save locally to the device.
When downloading directly from TikTok, either on desktop or mobile, a one-video-at-a-time approach is the only option, but several third-party services offer to save more than one at once.
Repurpose.io, a software company, allows creators to publish videos simultaneously across multiple platforms after they’ve been made in the TikTok app, and also has an option to download every video made on an account to Google Drive, allowing creators to save all of their work locally.
A Chrome web browser extension called myfaveTT promises to export all of a user’s liked and favorited videos to .mp4 files—and keep them sorted into folders as made within the app.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
What To Watch For
How legal efforts around the TikTok ban, currently set to start Jan. 19, progress. The company on Friday had its emergency motion for an injunction denied that would have stopped the ban from taking effect until the Supreme Court could decide whether to take up the case—and so President-elect Donald Trump could potentially step in to stop the ban after being sworn into office. Now, the company will have to appeal to the Supreme Court and the justices would have to issue a decision by Jan. 19.
Key Background
President Joe Biden signed a TikTok ban into law in April after increasing concerns from lawmakers about data privacy and its Chinese ties. Although TikTok has long denied having any links to the Chinese government, the new law said parent company ByteDance would need to sell its stake in the social media platform to stop it from being banned in the United States. TikTok fought in court, arguing the ban infringes on the company’s First Amendment rights, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week denied its petition to review the law and upheld the ban. On Monday, TikTok filed an emergency motion for an injunction asking the ban to be paused while it asks the Supreme Court to take up the case. That was denied Friday. In its filing, TikTok also said the pause would allow the Trump administration time to weigh in on the legal dispute. Trump reportedly wants to stop the TikTok ban, but how and if he could is still unclear. On Friday, members of Congress sent letters to the CEOs of Apple, Google and TikTok reminding them that TikTok will need to be removed from app stores by Jan. 19.
How Would A Tiktok Ban Actually Work?
It’s not completely clear how the banning of the application, which is used by about 170 million Americans, would work, but it’s unlikely it would simply disappear from the phones of U.S. users. Instead, the law would penalize internet providers and companies with App stores like Apple and Google for continuing to make updates available, The New York Times reported, so the app would degrade over time and become unusable.
Can Changing Location Settings Help Avoid The Tiktok Ban?
Yes and no. Even disabling location services or changing your location within TikTok is unlikely to stop the app from trying to infer an approximate location using other factors (like device settings), which may mean the ban still applies. Users who are able to use a virtual private network (VPN) to change their local IP address, however, may have a good chance of getting around the ban by rerouting their connection through another country. VPNs are often used by people in countries with strict information laws to access censored information and websites.
Further Reading
