People in the US are taking extreme measures to regain access to TikTok.
Users were devastated when the video sharing app was taken down over the weekend.
X owner Elon Musk even said he was ‘looking into’ reviving defunct app Vine in response to TikTok’s shutdown.
The ban, in place until its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it, was upheld by the US Supreme Court on Sunday – but new President Trump delayed the ban.
US users saw a pop-up message thanking Donald Trump for restoring the app when they logged back in less than a day later.
But even though the app is working again, it’s currently not available to download on the Apple App Store or Google Play, meaning users who deleted the app after it went down won’t be able to re-download it.
So some people trying to cash in on the desperation to get back on TikTok have taken matters into their own hands.
They’re listing phones on eBay with the promise that the device will come with the TikTok app installed – and they’re asking for a hefty price tag.
One listing, for an iPhone 15 Pro Max with TikTok installed, was starting bids at £5,000 ($6,100) with a buy it now price of £13,000 ($16,000).
Another was listing an iPhone 15 Pro Titanium with the app for 45,000 Euro ($46,800), while another listing for an iPhone X with TikTok had a buy it now price of £10,000 ($12,300).
Another listing, which described the phone as an iPhone 13 Pro TikTok Installed East Coast based phone, was listed at $50,000.
The iPhone 15 and 16 models generally sell for between $1,200 and $1,500 on eBay, meaning that the phones with TikTok installed are selling at a markup of between $9,000 and $46,000, Newsweek reports.
These listings have gone viral on social media, and users are questioning the intelligence of anyone who buys one of the phones at its seriously inflated price.
One said ‘If you bought one of these hmu I’ve got some air to sell you’ while another asked ‘Like why…. i love tiktok too but ive NEVER BEEN THIS DESPERATE for a damn app’ while a third joked ‘I got a tablet with the original flappy bird if anyone’s interested’.
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