Apple and Google restored TikTok to their app stores on Thursday after the popular social media app " went dark " last month. The Chinese-owned app was removed from the stores on Jan. 18 after a ban in the United States went into effect. When TikTok briefly went dark, a message popped up for users, "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."

TikTok returned to the Apple and Google app stores Thursday night, weeks after being pulled down in the wake of a US ban of the popular social media app that technically took effect in January. Both Apple and Google had pulled the app from its stores on Jan.