CapCut Goes Down
On Sunday, January 19, 2025, U.S. users who tried to open CapCut were greeted with a message indicating the app was unavailable. Some had already encountered this on Saturday night. While a similar fate for TikTok wasn’t shocking—given the long-discussed “TikTok ban”—hardly anyone was considering the potential for CapCut to “go dark” at the same time.
CapCut (and TikTok) were removed from mobile app stores, meaning they couldn’t be downloaded, installed, or used for in-app purchases. But the impact wasn’t limited to mobile devices—desktop users were also affected. Those who had CapCut installed on their computers saw a “Sorry, CapCut isn’t available right now” message. Clicking “Learn more” or “Close CapCut” led to a page where users could request to download their data.
Interestingly, clicking “Close CapCut” didn’t actually close the program (at least for me). I could open projects, but most functionality was disabled—likely because any feature requiring a connection to CapCut’s servers was blocked.
Meanwhile, the CapCut web app was also inaccessible in the U.S. Whether this was due to “internet hosting services” blocking access or CapCut itself restricting U.S. users is unclear.
Why Did CapCut Shut Down?
CapCut’s fate is tied to the TikTok ban (as many call it) which is defined by Division H of Public Law 118-50, which is titled “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.”
PDF version of Public Law 118-50 (Div H starts on page 61)
The law prohibits entities from “distributing, updating, or maintaining” any app deemed a Foreign Adversary Controlled Application (FACA). It places responsibility on app stores and “internet hosting services” to block access to any designated FACA. The term “internet hosting services” is used in the law, but it isn’t obvious to me whether it’s only referring to web hosting companies, or if includes ISPs (Internet Service Providers) as well.
Who Decides What’s a FACA?
The Act declares apps operated by ByteDance, TikTok, or any subsidiaries or successors controlled by a foreign adversary are FACAs. Since CapCut is owned by ByteDance, it falls under this category. The law gives the President the authority to identify additional apps that should be classified as FACAs.
Timeline
April 24, 2024: It’s the Law
January 10, 2025: Bytedance Fought the Law
ByteDance did not sell TikTok’s U.S. operations and showed no intent to do so. Instead, they challenged the law’s constitutionality, a battle that reached the Supreme Court just days before the ban would go into effect.
January 17, 2025: The Law Won
On Friday, January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the law, allowing the ban to take effect on January 19. Read the Supreme Court opinion (PDF)
Without a sale or Presidential intervention, the ban was set to proceed. The Act allowed the President to grant a 90-day extension if there was “significant progress” toward a sale. However, President Biden deferred the issue, leaving it for incoming President Trump to handle.
January 18–19, 2025: TikTok and CapCut Go Dark
TikTok and CapCut shut down in the U.S. starting Saturday night.
January 19, 2025: TikTok Restores Service
By Sunday afternoon, TikTok started coming back online for U.S. users, citing “clarity and assurance” from President Trump, who had indicated he would extend the deadline. CapCut, however, remained unavailable on mobile, desktop, and the web.
Political Pressure Keeps TikTok & CapCut out of App Stores
While mobile users who already had TikTok installed found their Bytedance apps working again, those that had deleted or never installed the app wouldn’t find it in the App stores. After Bytedance announced it would be restoring service based on Trump’s remarks, several senators issued a warning, reminding companies that violating the law could mean “ruinous bankruptcy.”
App store operators face a $5,000 fine per U.S. user if found in violation of the law. It is widely reported that TikTok has 170 million US users. The fine for 1 million users works out to $5 billion. The current number of US CapCut users isn’t as easy to find.
January 20, 2025: Trump Delays Enforcement
After taking office, President Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the Act for 75 days and pledged not to enforce violations retroactively.
Subscription Woes
Many CapCut Pro users faced an additional issue: app stores automatically canceled their Pro subscriptions due to CapCut’s unavailability. This raised concerns about pricing. Before December 18, 2024, Pro was $9.99/month or $89.99/year. After the introduction of a new “Standard” plan at the same price, Pro subscriptions increased to $19.99/month or $179.99/year.
Would users who lost their old Pro subscriptions be forced to pay the new, higher price?
CapCut’s Response
I reached out to CapCut support with three key questions:
1) Will CapCut availability in the US be restored (like TikTok was)?
2) Is CapCut/Bytedance automatically cancelling Pro subscriptions for US-based users?
3) If a Pro user’s subscription is cancelled or refunded by CapCut/Bytedance or an app store, due to lack of availability in the US, and availability in the US is subsequently restored, will the user be able to resume their subscription at the the pricing they had (9.99/mo for Pro) or be subject to the new pricing (19.99/mo for Pro)?
CapCut responded—after just 9 days:
“Please be assured that your subscription was not cancelled by CapCut. Due to the temporary shutdown in the U.S., subscriptions may have been automatically paused. We’re working tirelessly to resolve this issue and will notify you as soon as CapCut is available in the app store again.
For all affected users, whether your subscription expired during this period or not, you’ll be able to restore your subscription at the original price.”
I got a much quicker response via Discord (the same day.) I asked very specific questions about whether CapCut’s future if TikTok divested and if Bytedance was making any other plans to keep CapCut available. They responded by saying they too were waiting for official updates but were committed to doing everything they could to keep the app available.
The Takeaway
For now, CapCut users in the U.S. can access the app on mobile if they already had it installed, but it isn’t available in the app stores. The CapCut web app is up and running, as well as the desktop app, which can be downloaded via the CapCut website. While the extension buys time, the long-term future of TikTok and CapCut in the U.S. hinges on whether ByteDance sells its U.S. operations—or a new legal challenge changes the game. Stay tuned!
