TikTok's ban in the US could be lifted with VPNs.

• If TikTok goes dark for Americans on Sunday, they may use VPNs to continue accessing the app.
• By routing internet traffic through a foreign server, VPNs give the impression that users are accessing the internet from a different country.
• ExpressVPN's representative informed CNBC that there are always noticeable increases in VPN demand when online access is limited, and this trend continues.

If TikTok goes dark for Americans on Sunday, they may use VPNs to continue accessing the app.

On Sunday, the Chinese-owned app will be removed from mobile app stores and the web for U.S. users due to a law signed by President Joe Biden in April 2024 that mandates the app be sold to a qualified buyer before the deadline.

The app will likely disappear from app stores for iPhones and Android phones, although it won't be removed from users' devices. However, the app may stop functioning.

On Sunday, TikTok will shut its service for Americans, even for those who have already downloaded the app, according to reports from Reuters and The Information. The company has not yet disclosed their plans for removing the apps from their app stores on that day.

"IProyal.com, a proxy service, can restrict users based on their location by checking where they came from through an app or website, as stated by Justas Palekas, the head of product at IProyal.com."

Masking your physical internet access point

Using VPNs may enable Americans to continue using the app.

Proxies and VPNs route internet traffic through a foreign server, giving the impression that the user is accessing the internet from a different country.

Every time a computer connects to the internet, it is assigned a unique 12-digit IP number that identifies the network and the physical region the request originated from.

VPNs have been widely used in China to circumvent the country's firewall and access U.S. websites such as Google and Facebook. The use of VPNs surged in India after TikTok was banned in 2020. Additionally, VPNs are commonly used to watch sporting events from countries where official broadcasts are unavailable.

The VPN market was valued at approximately $38 billion in 2022, as stated by the VPN Trust Initiative, a lobbying organization.

Significant spikes in VPN demand occur when online platform access is restricted, as seen in the current situation, according to Lauren Hendry Parsons, a privacy advocate at ExpressVPN, a $5 per month VPN provider.

The impending U.S. ban on TikTok underscores the importance of VPNs, as millions use them for secure, private, and unrestricted internet access. ProtonVPN provides its service for $10 a month.

The price of VPNs

Both ExpressVPN and ProtonVPN allow users to set their internet-access location.

While most VPN services charge a monthly fee for their servers and traffic, some employ a business model that involves collecting user data or traffic trends, such as Meta's free VPN service aimed at monitoring competitors' app growth.

Using a VPN can slow down internet speed because requests must pass through a middleman computer to conceal the user's physical location.

If TikTok goes dark, it's uncertain if VPNs will work, as their effectiveness in the past does not guarantee success in this scenario. It's possible that TikTok may be able to detect Americans who use VPNs to access the app.

For many years, VPNs and proxies have been used to bypass regional restrictions on the internet. However, their usage is growing as governments attempt to prohibit specific services or applications.

Government takedown demands led to the removal of nearly 1500 apps in 2023, with over 1000 of them being in China. These apps, mostly fringe ones, violated laws such as those against gambling or Chinese video game rules. However, countries are increasingly banning apps for reasons related to national security or economic development.

The U.S. is set to prohibit one of the most widely used apps in the nation, with 115 million users, it was the second most downloaded app of 2024 on both iOS and Android, according to an estimate from Sensor Tower, a market research firm.

The importance of VPNs in safeguarding internet freedom is growing as more efforts are made to divide and restrict online access, according to Parsons.

WATCH: Chinese TikTok alternative surges