After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the long-awaited TikTok ban on Jan. 18, TikTok users across the country were presented with the following message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”

But about 12 hours later, TikTok was back. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban for 75 days. This gives TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, additional time to sell its stake in the app to an American-owned company, to comply with a law passed in April 2024.

Despite this, the app no longer receives updates and has yet to return to the App Store and Google Play. Content creators across the Triangle feel uneasy about the app’s future and how long their platforms will last. 

Christina Riley, also known as “NC Tripping” on TikTok, is a travel creator based in Durham. With her husband, Carl Hedinger, Riley posts videos of her favorite hikes, trip itineraries, traveler advice and promotes small businesses across North Carolina. 

Despite having 244,000 TikTok followers, Riley said she does not monetize traditionally through TikTok views, instead making the bulk of her money from brand deals. One of her main concerns is where she will go after TikTok if the app is banned in the U.S.

“Of the 15 [platforms] that are floating around there, where do I go next and where do I put my attention?” Riley said. “It’s almost overwhelming and has put me in a freeze. I can’t restart on all of these platforms, and which one do I pour my energy into if that does happen?”

Riley said she is also worried about losing access to CapCut, a video editing software also owned by ByteDance. She has been using CapCut since she first began making videos on TikTok, in 2020. 

“When the TikTok ban happened or when it shut down for, what, 36 hours, I think all the creators were expecting CapCut to still work and it didn’t,” Riley said. “Then it locked me out and I had very important projects in there.”

Riley installed a virtual private network to access her content in CapCut and downloaded all her videos in case the app did not come back. However, she said she is concerned about having to start all over somewhere else.

“For me, CapCut is one of the most intuitive video editing platforms that I’ve used,” Riley said. “Having to relearn a new video editing platform, if that goes away, it’s going to be one more hurdle to add on.”

As a travel content creator, Riley often promotes small businesses across Durham and the rest of North Carolina. Finding new places to visit and connecting with others outside of the travel niche has been one of her favorite parts of TikTok, Riley said.

“I’m a conduit to bringing more people to small businesses and that means a lot to me because small businesses are the heart of our community,” Riley said.

Linda Nguyen, or “Linda Eats World,” as she is known on TikTok, is a food and travel content creator based in Carrboro. Nguyen visits restaurants around North Carolina and Texas, sharing her favorite locations and blogging about her experiences.

Like Riley, Nguyen’s uncertainty surrounding TikTok is less of a financial concern, and more a loss of community. Despite only having 15,000 followers compared to her larger Instagram following, Nguyen said the TikTok algorithm has allowed her to reach many people who engage with her content, despite some of them not following her.

“I’ve been able to help some small businesses in the community and in the Triangle, because specific content pieces on TikTok went viral despite me having a small following,” Nguyen said. “So that’s been really beautiful.”

The app’s outreach to small businesses is huge, Nguyen said. People who do not use TikTok might not realize the potential effects a permanent ban could have on their community, Nguyen said.

“You don’t realize that, when you go to the bookstore, there’s an entire table of books that became popular because of TikTok,” Nguyen said. “If you’re a small business owner, you have no idea how many people have found your restaurant because they saw a video on TikTok.”

Nguyen said she also feels fulfilled when she can contribute to a small business’s success and spread the word about its services.

“Being able to uplift, especially, the marginalized communities,” Nguyen said. “I feel like I’m more likely to drive a long way in the Triangle if it’s a minority-owned business.”

Both Nguyen and Riley celebrate the community they have found in the Triangle through TikTok.

“Because I travel so much, and my job is to travel, coming home is often like, ‘Oh yeah, I forget that I have a really awesome home that I chose,’” Riley said. “I chose Durham.”