TikTok has unexpectedly reignited interest in India after being absent for almost five years. This week, a lot of users observed that the platform’s website could be accessed without a VPN. But the app itself is still not available for download, leaving everyone to wonder if TikTok is truly returning or if this is merely a glitch.
Website Goes Live, But Features Don’t Work
Some Indian users were taken aback when TikTok’s homepage began to load properly. However, further investigation showed that the majority of features, such as uploading content, watching videos, and logging in, are still broken. Because of this, there has been conjecture that it may not be a relaunch but rather a network error.
What’s Next?
For now, the return of TikTok looks unlikely. The app is still missing from both Google Play and Apple’s App Store in India, and both the government and TikTok insist nothing has changed. The sudden reappearance of its website seems more like a technical hiccup than a policy shift.
Still, the incident shows one thing: even five years later, TikTok continues to have a powerful presence in the minds of Indian users—and the debate around it is far from over.