Some TikTok creators revealed their secrets before the app went dark. That might be awkward now.
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- TikTok returned for US users less than 24 hours after it went dark over the weekend.
- Some creators who thought the app was gone for good used the ban to expose their own secrets.
- DuoLingo revealed the face of its mascot, while TikToker Charli D'Amelio confessed to an old rumor.
Ahead of what looked like a TikTok apocalypse in the US, some of the app's most popular creators made last-ditch confessions and exposed their own trade secrets.
They might be regretting those decisions now.
Less than 24 hours after the Chinese-owned app went dark for US users on Sunday in compliance with a divest-or-ban law, TikTok announced it would restore service after President-elect Donald Trump said he'd issue an executive order to "extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect."
But before the U-turn, some creators used a catchy sound from "Family Guy" to expose their long-running bits, confess to fake content, and debunk internet lore surrounding them.
@sentmedowntownlights some of these had my jaw on the FLOOR. wdym it was all a lie??? ???? #influencers #influencerconfessions #tiktokban #january19tiktokban #sinceweareallgoingtodie #influencerslying #tiktokisback #americansontiktok #influencer #stayathomedaughter #duolingoreveal #scargirlconfession #charlidamelioanxietypen #alltheinfluencerconfessions #kenziezieglerconfession @haleyybaylee @charli d’amelio @Stay At Home Daughter @Duolingo @CarterKench @kenzie
♬ original sound - ????????????????????️
DuoLingo, the language-learning app with over 14 million TikTok followers, revealed the face of its giant owl mascot: a staffer named Mark.
"Well this is awkward," DuoLingo wrote in the comments of its face-reveal video on Sunday after the app began making a comeback in the US.
Charli D'Amelio, a TikToker who rose to fame on the app in 2020, also took part in the trend. She confessed that a device she was caught using as a teenager wasn't actually an "anxiety pen," leading those who suspected it was a vape to say they'd been vindicated.
In the since-deleted clip, D'Amelio said: "While we're admitting things, if TikTok's going away, it wasn't an anxiety pen. I still, to this day, don't know who came up with that, but I'm sorry."
@kaelimaee had to get this off my chest if we really going out HAHAHAHA IM SORRRYYY
♬ eredeti hang – Griffins4U - Griffins4U
Other popular TikTokers used the trend to confess to faking parts of their content, such as Kaeli Mae, a TikToker with 14.5 million followers known for posting content of elaborate ice cubes with fruit.
Mae's confession? She's never used the ice cubes herself.
Mae's comment section was soon filled with questions and comments criticizing her for wasting food.
"Just sitting here thinking about all of the creators who made videos admitting their content was fake," one user wrote in a video referencing Mae's admission. "The ice cub girl? I cannot. I wanted to be like her so bad."
Mae later clarified that her friends and family enjoy the cubes because she prefers drinks at room temperature.
While TikTokers might have some explaining to do, others who said they'd face "devastating" income losses without it are likely breathing a sigh of relief.
Ahead of the TikTok ban, some US creator criticized the move as infringing upon their rights to freedom of speech and said they wouldn't file taxes in protest.