TikTok India 2025: Ban Lifted or Yet Another Fake Return?

TikTok has been the most talked about and newly banned app in India for years. Although TikTok has been banned since 2020, it’s still in the conversation and stoking rumors and expectations around its return. A glitch happened in 2025, and the internet is buzzing again. And the glitch is a clear indication that TikTok is deeply embedded in the Indian digital conversation.

The viral hype that fooled millions

Is TikTok back in India? For a few glorious moments in 2025, millions saw TikTok’s website loading and didn’t use a VPN. Social media timelines were filled with memes, WhatsApp forwards, and trending hashtags like ‘Is TikTok back?’. But before anyone could even practice that dance move, the Indian government had to bring everyone back to earth: TikTok is banned.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) stated clearly:

“The Government of India has not issued any unblocking order for TikTok in India. Any such statement or news is false and misleading.”

So what actually happened? The so-called TikTok comeback in India is just a glitch, not a policy change.

Why was TikTok banned in India? The TikTok ban reason explained

To understand why every time the TikTok ban rumor goes viral, we need to go back to June 29, 2020; that was the day TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps were banned in India under Section 69A of the IT Act.

Reasons for TikTok ban in India:

• Data privacy: The authorities were concerned that TikTok was transferring Indian user data to foreign servers, so there were security and espionage risks.

• Geopolitics: The ban came after the COVID-19 pandemic and the Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese troops, which led to calls for digital sovereignty.

• National security: The government said these apps were prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.

At the time of the ban, TikTok had over 200 million users in India, who in a matter of minutes were left with no platform, and it totally devastated influencers and businesses that relied on the platform.

The TikTok-shaped hole in India and the rise of alternatives

When TikTok vanished, India’s short video ecosystem exploded with new players. Dozens of homegrown apps tried to cash in on the TikTok ban in India.

• Moj (by ShareChat): Reached 160 million monthly active users in less than 2 years.

• Josh (by VerSe Innovation): Got 179 million monthly active users and raised over $450 million in funding.

• Chingari and Roposo: Gained traction but struggled with long-term retention.

The real winners were Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

• Reels saw a 171% growth in engagement between 2021 and 2022 and hit 2.2 billion interactions.

• Shorts grew 3,940% in India in 2022 and hit 1.5 billion engagements.

By 2023 many Indian TikTok alternatives slowed down while Reels and Shorts cemented their position in the Indian short video market.

The epic TikTok comeback glitch of 2025

In August 2025, users in India unexpectedly saw that TikTok's website did come back. Screenshots of the site circulated, which made everyone think TikTok was back in India.

But it wasn't. It was a bad network-level ISP misconfiguration.

• You couldn't log in.
• Videos would not play.
• And it was still blocked in the Play Store and App Store!

This was not a comeback. It was a technical glitch, the same as it had been in 2022. But it did show one thing: TikTok is still living rent-free in India's head.

What would it take for a real TikTok unban in India?

A TikTok unban in India in 2025 is not impossible but would require some changes. Experts have a clear plan:

• Data localization and privacy laws

-> Firstly, TikTok would have to store all Indian user data in India. TikTok would have to follow the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and even allow government audits.

• Regulatory compliance

-> The company would have to have local compliance officers in India, stronger content moderation, and transparency of algorithms.

• National security guarantees

-> ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, might have to restructure or separate an Indian entity.

• Geopolitical relations

-> The ban was partly political, so improving India-China relations will be important.

• Market reality

-> If the app gets unbanned, it will also face huge competition from Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, which have both done a very good job of capturing India's short video market.

The verdict on the TikTok ban remains

So, is TikTok in India? The answer is still NO. The 2025 website error was just a mirage. The TikTok ban in India is still in place.

Until ByteDance changes the way it collects data, complies with Indian laws, and handles geopolitics for Indian users, TikTok won’t be back in India anytime soon.

👉 Till then, India’s creators and users will scroll through Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Moj, and Josh. For now, these creators will keep dancing, just not on TikTok.

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