If TikTok were to shut down for all US users, the outcome would be different than the law, which would ban new TikTok downloads from Apple or Google’s app stores, while existing users would be able to continue using it for a while.

TikTok plans to have users access the app with a message directing them to a website with information about the ban. TikTok also plans to give users the option to download all their personal data so they can switch to another app.

US President Joe Biden signed a law last April requiring Bytedance to divest its US assets by January 19, 2025 or face a nationwide ban.

The company has sought to at least delay implementation of the law, which it says violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on restricting free speech.

TikTok said in a December court filing that it estimated about a third of the app's 170 million U.S. users would stop using the app if the ban lasted a month.

Days before the TikTok ban in the US took effect, US users flocked to social network RedNote, known in China as Xiaohongshu, as an alternative.

RedNote soared to the top of the most downloaded apps chart in the United States this week, with more than 700,000 new users joining Xiaohongshu in just two days, according to Reuters. RedNote downloads in the United States were up more than 200% year-over-year this week and up 194% from the week before, according to app data research firm Sensor Tower.

Meanwhile, the second most popular free app on Apple's App Store listing, Lemon8 - another social networking app owned by ByteDance, experienced a similar spike last month, with downloads jumping 190% in December 2024 to around 3.4 million.