Despite the fact that you can still use the service, TikTok is still very much so banned in the United States. President Trump promised to not fine TikTok and its service providers for continuing to run the services, but thats just a promise. He also signed an executive order officially suspending the ban, but theres great odds that that executive order doesnt actually hold up legally.For one reason or another, Apple (and Google) have both decided that they dont want to take the risk. If a court later decides that Trumps promises dont hold up legally, Apple could be on the hook for up to $850 billion in fines. It just isnt worth it for them.TikTok unavailable on the App Store in the USTikTok is not available on the App Store. When you first hear that, you might just think that you cant get the app if you didnt already have it which doesnt sound like that big of a deal. After all, if you really cared about TikTok, you probably had it installed already. However, theres a much larger consequence of TikTok being unavailable on the App Store: if you for whatever reason need to re-install the app, youll be unable to.That means if you buy a new iPhone, you wont be able to officially install TikTok. It also means that if you seriously damage your iPhone and you need to replace the entire device, youre out of luck when it comes to TikTok. Same applies to needing to restore your iPhone if theres a software issue.In the support document Apple published on January 19th, the day the TikTok ban became official law, the company outlined this fact:If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device. But they cant be redownloaded if deleted or restored if you move to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible.If you care deeply about TikTok, take as good care of your current iPhone as you can. And if your current iPhone is on its last legs, hold out just a little bit longer on that upgrade. It wont be possible to easily reinstall the app afterwards. Youll unfortunately need to resort to the website.My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel