WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for TikTok users. From losing the beloved app to getting it back hours later, many are celebrating the return, while unsure of its future.
On Saturday night, TikTok users received a notification on their phone telling them the app was banned in the US.
"It was a big shock. I didn't think it was actually going to go through," TikTok user Emily Abreu.
"I was a little bit sad. I'm not going to lie," added Valentina Goncalves.
"You guys were supposed to do this at midnight. This is cruel. This is rude," TikTok user Savannah James said.
About 12 hours later it was back online.
"I was like, there's no way. I almost deleted the app and then here we are," Abreu said.
"I feel better because I was like, 'What am I supposed to fill my time with,'" James said.
The app welcomed its users back with yet another notification attributing its return to "President Trump's efforts."
In a post on Truth Social, the soon-to-be president said he's pushing for 50% American ownership. It would be a joint venture with the China-based parent company, ByteDance.
Social media expert Ashleigh Shay said the app's algorithm has made it successful.
"The inherent special sauce for TikTok is this algorithm, which ByteDance has gone on record saying they will not sell even if they sell TiktTok as a company," Shay said.
TikTok users that WPTV spoke to in West Palm Beach told us they rely on the app for various reasons.
"I like to know a lot of stuff, but I don't really want to search for it. I want it to be where I can see it and TikTok like just puts it all there," James said.
"I just put out my first album so I'm trying to promote that and TikTok was one of those platforms that I used a lot," TikTok user Danny Pizza said.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order Monday to allow him more time to work out a deal before the app is officially banned.
Regarding privacy concerns, the TikTok community seems to have mixed feelings.
"I'm happy to see it come back," Pizza said. "I also think that there's something to say with privacy that we should probably keep it in America."
"I don't think they're like selling our data and like spying on us," James said. "I really don’t think it's that serious."
