What happens if TikTok is banned? Will app and data disappear?

(NewsNation) — The U.S. Supreme Court this week will decide whether to ban the widely used video sharing app TikTok.

The app, which is owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance and known for its viral videos, trending dances and widespread memes, currently has more than 170 million users in the United States.

President Joe Biden signed legislation last April requiring TikTok to be owned by an American company by Jan. 19, 2025. Proponents of the ban cite "national security" risks and data privacy as reasons for the shutdown, including former President Trump, who tried to issue the first TikTok ban back in 2020.

He's since changed his tune on the app, vowing to "negotiate a resolution to save the platform."

Now, the platform's fate is up to the Supreme Court. Its decision could put an end to limitless scrolling by Sunday unless ByteDance sells the social media platform in time.

Here's what happens next if the Supreme Court upholds the ban and ByteDance doesn't sell.

What happens if TikTok gets banned?

Even if TikTok is banned, the app won't disappear immediately from your phone. Instead, it will likely be removed from app stores, meaning no new users can download it.

Existing users in the U.S. could still potentially use the app, but removal from app stores would bar it from being updated. It's not clear if American users will be able to upload content.

If bugs, security problems and glitches pop up and remain unresolved, the app could become unusable after some time, especially if your phone updates and renders the software incompatible.

That would leave the app to exist as a modern relic on older phones — think Vine or Flappy Bird — if the ban comes to pass.

Another possibility of the ban's enforcement would be a TikTok block by internet service providers, preventing American users from accessing the platform's web version.

Will my TikTok data disappear?

Not necessarily, if you keep the app, though if you want to save a copy of your account data, here's how to do it:

Go to your Profile page, tap the Menu button, navigate to Settings and Privacy, choose Account and then Download your data.

You can choose which data you want to download and the file format. Depending on the amount of videos you've uploaded, the process may take a few days.

Ways to avoid TikTok ban in US

No matter how the ban is enacted in the United States, there will likely be workarounds available for users who want to keep on scrolling.

Using a virtual private network, or VPN, allows users to change their location data and access content as though they are in a different country.

Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNN’s "Terms of Service" podcast that social media bans in other countries have been avoided using VPNS.

"In Turkey, for example, a lot of social media sites have been blocked for years, and having a VPN that gets around that censorship is something that nearly every single person in Turkey does," Galperin said.

Alternative apps to TikTok

As TikTok users prepare for a possible app shutdown, many are looking for a similar platform to help fill the vertical video void left behind.

Other already widely used apps in America — like YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram — have features like reels and stories that mirror TikTok's user experience and often recycle content from the platform.

Here are some of the alternatives Americans are exploring:

Xiaohongshu, or “RedNote”

Some of the “TikTok refugees,” as they call themselves, say the TikTok alternative, a Chinese app, is being chosen in protest of the TikTok ban.

Xiaohongshu, which in English means “Little Red Book,” is a Chinese social media app that combines e-commerce, short video and posting functions.

The #tiktokrefugee topic has racked up over 160,000 posts on Xiaohongshu, many of which are videos of American users introducing themselves and asking for tips on how to navigate the app, which they are calling “RedNote.”

Lemon8

Lemon8, also owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, is a lesser-known lifestyle app that allows users to post pictures and short-form videos. Though the platform lets users post TikTok-like videos, it leans more into pictures and has been described as a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest.

In the past few weeks, many creators have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned under federal law. Some have also recommended it through paid sponsored posts tagged #lemon8partner, indicating a recent corporate push to generate more users.

But the law that targets TikTok also states the divest-or-ban requirement for ByteDance applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by the two companies or any of their subsidiaries. That means even though Lemon8 is not explicitly named in the statute, its future in the U.S. is also in jeopardy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.