Oliver Haslam·

You Can Now Sideload TikTok APK On Android

If you’re an Android phone user who is worried that the TikTok app could be pulled from the Google Play Store amid ongoing tensions between the US government and the app’s Chinese owner, a new option has appeared.

TikTok is now offering US users the option to download the TikTok Android app from the company’s own website for the first time, meaning users won’t have to install it via the Google Play Store.

Google removed the app briefly last month after TikTok was banned in the United States, but this new move means that there is an alternative option for Android users should that happen again.

Both the TikTok and TikTok Lite versions of the app are available, with the latter designed to work on slower internet connections. TikTok announced the move via a post on the X social network.

We’re enhancing ways for our community to continue using TikTok by making Android Package Kits available at TikTok.com/download so that our U.S. Android users can download our app and create, discover, and connect on TikTok.

However, by offering TikTok outside of the Play Store, Chinese owner ByteDance could be opening up a potential malware vector for its users. People could now easily accidentally download an unofficial version of the app believing that it’s the real thing, only to find that it’s full of malware.

TikTok obviously wants to make sure that Android users can continue to download the app even if another ban comes into force. There is no such sideloading option for iPhone users.

You may also like to check out:

You can follow us on X, or Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel and even like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple, and the Web.