TikTok Launches Android App Outside Google Play Store

Since going offline in the US with a ban imminent, the TikTok app has not made a comeback to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. This implies that Android and Apple smartphones are unable to download new files. At least for Android enthusiasts, things have finally calmed down.

The software package that enables users to download the app directly is now listed on the official TikTok website rather than in an app repository like the Google Play Store. The app’s software package has long been hosted on third-party websites, but doing so often carries a virus risk.

TikTok revealed that the Android version of the app is now available for download in the US on its own website. For the first time since Google took the app down from Google Play last month due to a US prohibition, the update gives Android users in the US a simple option to download or upgrade the software.

And you can as well click the hamburger menu in the upper-left corner of the screen while using the mobile version of TikTok. Then, in the side panel that appears, scroll down and select the “download” option.

A post on X (formerly twitter) from the Tiktok team also advised their followers that by making Android Package Kits available at http://TikTok.com/download, we’re improving options for our community to continue using TikTok. This will allow our U.S. Android customers can download our software and create, discover, and connect on TikTok seamlessly.

Both TikTok and TikTok Lite, an app version optimized for slower internet connections, are available for download. After that, all you need to do is open the file and authorize the installation to install or update the software. In almost the same amount of time as it takes to download an app from Google Play, Wes Davis, a writer from TheVerge was able to upgrade to the latest version of TikTok on his Pixel 6.

When I checked the Google Play Store, I also saw that Tiktok and Tiktok lite were applications that could be downloaded.

Similar to Apple, TikTok is not required to go by particular guidelines while providing the download on its own, but Google does need app developers to adhere to them in order to be included on the Play Store. However, according to a TikTok support website, the software “remains safe and secure.” It claims that Oracle and the “Independent Security Inspectors” that ByteDance hired last year in response to earlier reports that its Project Texas attempt to isolate its US operations from China and placate US legislators was “largely cosmetic” are still looking into TikTok’s source code.

A request for comment from The Verge was not immediately answered by Google.

iPhone users will have to keep using the software via a web browser while they wait for Apple to reintroduce it to the software Store because the company does not permit sideloading in the US. That might not occur anytime soon since, despite President Trump’s executive order halting its implementation, neither Apple nor Google have been willing to violate the ban and face billion-dollar fines.

Also in other news and updates after the federal TikTok ban, it is understandable that it is not available on Google TV or Apple’s tvOS. However, Axios discovered that TV manufacturers LG, Amazon, and Vizio have ceased to provide the software for download.

It makes sense. Who wants to risk hundreds of billions in fines only to sell a social video software that’s meant to be seen on a smartphone?

Punchbowl news reports that the Vice President and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz have been assigned the responsibility of “quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok” prior to President Trump’s enforcement pause deadline in April.

That is supported by the Wall Street Journal, which claims that Trump hired Vance because he relied on his (reportedly lackluster) experience as a venture investor to close the deal.