Marvel Snap, CapCut, Lemon8 and other ByteDance apps also shut down in the US alongside TikTok

Update, January 19, 2025, 2:06 p.m. ET: After shutting down its app and being delisted from various app stores about 12 hours ago, TikTok is now in the process of restoring its services in the United States. This story addresses more recent changes in this evolving situation; Below is the original text of this report.

It was unclear before the TikTok ban what the fate of other apps from parent company ByteDance would be, but now we know: they have also gone dark in the United States. At the same time that TikTok was taken offline this weekend, other apps developed by or affiliated with ByteDance were also taken offline, including popular video editing tool CapCut, social media platform Lemon8 and MarvelSnap. All now display messages to US users that their services are unavailable. Ben Brode, director of development for Marvel Snap Developer Second Dinner wrote on Threads that being caught in the ban “came as a surprise to us” and that the team is working to bring it back online.

Second Dinner echoed this on X and in its in-app message to users, adding: “MARVEL SNAP isn’t going anywhere. ” While Marvel Snap was created by the US-based developer, its publisher Nuverse Games is a subsidiary of ByteDance. Other Nuverse games also appear to be affected.

Perhaps less surprising victims are CapCut and Lemon8, both developed by ByteDance, but given that the law focuses solely on TikTok as a target, their shutdown will certainly 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 have flocked to Lemon8; Just a few days ago, Lemon8 was the second most popular app in the App Store.

On a new support page listing some of the affected apps, Apple notes: “If these apps are already installed on your device, they will remain on your device. But they cannot be redownloaded if deleted or restored if you move to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible. These apps will not receive updates either.

With TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8 and Marvel SnapApple names Lark, Hypic – an AI photo editing tool – and Gauth: AI Study Companion as apps that were removed following the ban. But there are many more that are not listed 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 the support page. “In accordance with the Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act, applications developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries – including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8 and others – will no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store for users in the United States starting January 19, 2025.”

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