If you were to ask a teenager in high school, a Gen Zer in college, or even a grown adult in the workforce what they routinely do throughout the day — from when they first wake up in the morning to what they do right before bed at night — there would likely be a common thread in those responses: scrolling aimlessly on TikTok. So when the app went dark on Jan. 18 and 19, the daily routine of thousands of Americans were disrupted in a big way.
TikTok users were preparing for the app to shut down on Jan. 19 — most Americans have known for a while about the law forcing the app’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. stake in TikTok, or else be banned in the country because of TikTok’s potential threat to national security. However, TikTok’s Jan. 18 shutdown (hours ahead of the ban going into effect) surprised users… and then they were again surprised when the app came back to life less than 24 hours later, with a message thanking President Donald Trump for his efforts to keep the app active in the U.S. As for the state of TikTok now, Trump has issued an executive order to stall the enforcement of the ban for 75 days, buying the company more time to potentially get a buyer that will keep it active in the U.S. for the long term.
So, for now at least, TikTok has been restored… but only for those who already had the app downloaded before it went dark. The app is currently not available to download from app stores in the U.S., meaning those who deleted the app after it went dark — or simply didn’t have the app downloaded before that point — aren’t able to download it now that the platform is back online. Naturally, this has caused FOMO of epic proportions for many people across the country, and some entrepreneurial individuals are capitalizing on this by attempting to sell iPhones with the TikTok app downloaded — and for astronomical prices, at that.
In the days since TikTok’s brief dark period and return, iPhone “with TikTok downloaded” have popped up on reseller sites like eBay, offering people without the app another chance to resume FYP-scrolling to their heart’s content. But they come at a high cost. According to Newsweek, one TikTok-touting iPhone that had a $14,000 price tag was listed as “sold” on eBay (although the price that it actually sold for could have been lower). Other listings show iPhones with the TikTok app priced anywhere from $1,236 to $25,000 — with one even boasting a price tag of over $1 million.
Look, it’s understandable to miss TikTok, especially if it was once a regular part of your day. But, TBH, it’s probably not a good idea to buy a phone online just to get the app back — nor should you try to sell your own phone in order to earn some cash. According to eBay’s guidelines for selling smartphones, sellers need to complete a full factory reset on their phones before selling them, which would remove all data from the phone (yes, including the TikTok app). And even if you could get around that rule, you probably shouldn’t — buying or selling a used phone with data still on it could pose a multitude of security risks.
But even aside from all the rules and safety risks, consider that TikTok’s future is still extremely uncertain, meaning the app is still at risk of going dark once again. Do you really want to drop potentially thousands of dollars on something so unreliable? If you’re seriously considering crashing out and bidding on one of these devices (or listing one of your own), first ask yourself: Is it worth it — literally?