Ahead of TikTok's ban, it was unclear what the fate of parent company ByteDance's other apps would be, but now we know: They're gone in the US, too. Meanwhile, TikTok went offline this weekend, along with other apps ByteDance has developed or is associated with, including popular video editing tool CapCut, social media platform Lemon8 and Marvel Snap. All of them now display messages to US users that their services are unavailable. development director Marvel Snap Developer Second Dinner wrote on Threads that the ban “came as a surprise to us” and that the team is working to bring it back online.
The second dinner confirmed this and in a message to users in the app, adding: “MARVEL SNAP is here to stay.” Bye Marvel Snap was created by an American developer, its publisher Nuverse Games is a subsidiary of ByteDance. Other Nuverse games appear to be affected as well.
CapCut and Lemon8 may have been less surprising victims since both were developed by ByteDance, but given that the law only targets TikTok, their closure will still likely come as a shock to many users. CapCut is widely used for video editing, especially among social media creators. And many TikTok users looking for an alternative in light of the ban flocked to Lemon8; just a few days ago Lemon8 was in the App Store.
On the new support page listed some of the apps that will be shut down in the US, and there are TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8 and Marvel Snap, as well as Lark, Hypic – an artificial intelligence photo editing tool – and Gauth: AI Study Companion. But there are many others not mentioned in the list that could also be included.
“Apple is required to comply with the laws of the jurisdictions in which it operates,” Apple said in a statement on its support page. “Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Controlled Apps Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries, including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8 and others, will no longer be available for downloads or updates on the App Store for users in the United States beginning January 19, 2025.”