It is sold by some of Tiktok’s 170 million US-based users Social media app mobile phone They were preloaded online for thousands of dollars.
Parent company Baitedan voluntarily shut down the Tiktok app on Sunday in the US, hours before the deadline to sell the app or ban concerns related to Chinese ties. Tiktok was temporarily unavailable by US-based users, but on Monday President Donald Trump suspended the ban on US-operated apps that came into effect.
Even people who had already downloaded the app to their phone over the weekend were unable to use it before it became available again. The service has since been restored for existing users, but the app cannot be downloaded in the US-based app store yet, making it unavailable to anyone who hasn’t downloaded it before.
Phones with Tiktok already installed now suddenly become hot products. Dozens of listings for phones and tablets that already have apps have since been born on platforms including the online marketplace eBay.
Among them is an eBay list of devices called the brand new Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, which includes Tiktoks at $50,000 or “best offer”. Nearly 80 shoppers have turned to their list, according to the eBay website.
There are plenty of other similar lists, including devices listed for sale for just a few hundred dollars. Some of the lists advertise their phones with an active Tiktok account, while others say that the app is installed but not linked to the account. eBay did not immediately respond to CBS Moneywatch’s request for comment on the listing.
U.S. users of Tiktok are not targeted by the ban suspended by President Trump until early April. However, laws protecting Americans from hostile foreign application laws I’ll make it illegal Distribute or service Tiktok for Google or Apple app stores and web hosting services.
