TikTok recommends sideloading the Android app in the USA

Google and Apple have banned TikTok from their app stores. Android users in the USA can now access the social media app in a roundabout way.

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Feb 9, 2025 at 9:13 pm CET

1 min. read

By

Niklas Dierking

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order not to prosecute violations of the TikTok ban, but the app has not yet returned to the Google and Apple app stores. To provide not only existing but also new users with short videos, TikTok is calling on Android users in the USA at least to sideload.

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An app that you have downloaded as an APK must be installed manually. This is generally a bad idea because the authenticity and security of the app are then uncertain.

(Image: ndi / c't)

In order to continue to provide at least Android users with short videos, TikTok in the USA is now calling on them to install the app via sideloading. For this purpose, TikTok offers APKs (Android Package Kit) for download on its US website, which must be installed manually on the smartphone.

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The distribution of APKs to install apps is rather unusual, as users normally place more trust in verified apps from the Google Play Store. In a support post, TikTok appeals to users to only obtain APKs from the official homepage and not from third parties. The source code of the app is examined for security vulnerabilities by Oracle and "independent security inspectors".