The TikTok app is currently unavailable in the Apple App Store — making it available only to those who installed the app prior to its recent ban

This has two knock-on effects that are much longer term. First, we now know that a U.S. TikTok ban will be difficult to bypass if it comes back — and the same will be true for any other Chinese (or other) app banned in the same way. There are some options, as I reported over the weekend, but none of them are especially compelling.

The iPhone 15 and 16 models generally sell for between $1,200 and $1,500 on eBay. When the app was first banned iPhones with TikTok installed were listed for as much as $1 million during the app's 14 hour blackout, Ukrainian technology news outlet ITC reported.

As for Apple’s unprecedented action, this was spotted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in a post on X, who pointed out that Apple issued a support document about TikTok, titled “About availability of TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. Apps in the United States.”

The TikTok app is still not available in Google Play or the iPhone App Store despite Trump's order halting the ban. Here's what's happening.

With TikTok being removed from the App Store and people unable to download it, iPhones with the app installed on them are being sold for tens of thousands

Some fast-acting entrepreneurs are selling phones with TikTok preloaded on devices for thousands of dollars online, after the social media app was momentarily unavailable in the U.S.

Business Insider's scan of platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace showed hundreds of listings touting phones with TikTok and CapCut installed.

People are listing phones preloaded with TikTok for tens of thousands of dollars on eBay, Facebook marketplace and other online storefronts.

TikTok being banned across the United States has created a new market on eBay for smartphones that already have the app installed.

“Still has TikTok installed if that’s important to you,” reads one listing for an iPhone 14. “Can send a screen recording or something to prove it. Phones in good condition just some scratches but no cracks. All information and apps other than TikTok will be deleted so when you receive it will be like a new phone with TikTok preinstalled.”