Used phones with TikTok pre-installed are commanding premium prices on online marketplaces after ByteDance’s app shut down in response to U.S. legislation. 

While the service has been restored for existing users, the app remains unavailable for new downloads from U.S.-based app stores, creating an unexpected secondary market for devices with the application already installed.

Listings on eBay include a brand-new Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max with TikTok pre-loaded, priced at $50,000 or “Best Offer,” with approximately 80 potential buyers monitoring the listing. Other devices are listed at more modest prices in the hundreds of dollars, with sellers differentiating between phones containing active TikTok accounts and those with just the application installed.

Legal Context and Platform Access

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which prompted these market developments, specifically targets app distribution channels rather than individual users. The legislation makes it illegal for app stores operated by Google or Apple and web-hosting services to distribute or service TikTok.

ByteDance’s initial shutdown occurred on January 19, hours before a deadline requiring the company to sell to a U.S.-based entity or face a ban over national security concerns. While President Trump paused the implementation of the ban until early April, the app’s absence from official download channels remains in effect.

Creator Economy Impact and Professional Perspectives

Several industry experts have shared their thoughts on the TikTok-loaded phone situation on LinkedIn.

Chris Sumlin, Director of Social at Zelus Media Group, frames the $3,000 phone purchases as evidence of creator platform dependency, stating, “TikTok isn’t your audience—people are.” He argues that “investing in tools just to appease an algorithm on a certain app misses the point,” emphasizing that “creativity should outlast any app.”

Gianna Prudente, Editor of Early Career Development at LinkedIn, reports unexpected benefits after removing TikTok during the blackout. “I kept instinctively reaching for my phone and trying to open the app, only to remember it wasn’t there,” she notes, adding that “the mindlessness of it all was honestly pretty unsettling.” Prudente describes improved productivity following the app’s removal, having rearranged her phone to prioritize other applications.

Jake Rodriguez, Triangle Biotech T. Member, states, “an iPhone 15 with TikTok and CapCut installed listed on eBay for $13,997” while “a UK seller priced an iPhone 16 at a jaw-dropping $47,033.” He notes, “We live in a time where content is Gold. TikTok’s brief disappearance wasn’t just a technical hiccup; it was a reminder of how integral the platform is to our lives—personally, socially, and even financially.”

The experts drew a parallel between the current situation and the 2014 Flappy Bird phenomenon when phones containing the suddenly discontinued game similarly commanded premium prices on secondary markets.