TikTok started going dark for 170 million American users in an unprecedented display of the U.S.-China divide over technology and national security.

TikTok’s ban marooned over 170 million monthly users who made the wildly addictive short-form video app a central part of their daily lives.

TiKTok has locked users in the United States out as a ban takes effect — but incoming president Donald Trump has signalled he could offer a "reprieve".

TikTok's app was removed from prominent app stores in the US - just before a federal law that would have banned the popular social media platform was scheduled to go into effect.

With TikTok on track to be banned from U.S. app stores starting on Sunday, Instagram is adding new features to Reels, its video-based

TikTok warned US users late Saturday of an imminent shutdown of its service following a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a law banning the platform.

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday, Jan. 17, to uphold a law that would ban the app for the 170 million people who use the app in the U.S. The ruling lines up with decisions other courts have made and sets up the ban to go into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19.

At the time, India was TikTok’s biggest foreign market outside of China, with 200 million users. (For comparison, the U.S. currently has over 170 million TikTok users.) Following military clashes along the disputed border between India and China,

TikTok’s ban marooned over 170 million monthly users who made the wildly addictive short-form video app a central part of their daily lives.

These updates will initially roll out in the US, with plans to expand to other regions in the coming weeks, as confirmed by Instagram.

NBC News reports that TikTok has boosted advertisements for Lemon8, an application also owned by ByteDance, in recent days. Rival social-media apps and websites such as Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat are expected to increase their user base in the wake of a possible ban.