Smartphone users are selling their devices for thousands of dollars for having installed the TikTok app prior to the Jan. 19 ban. All apps owned by ByteDance, which include TikTok and CapCut, were removed from app stores in the United States after a ban went into effect with the approval of the Supreme Court.
Some iPhones with the TikTok app, which is currently unavailable in the Apple and Google app stores, are fetching big bucks on eBay in the wake of the video-sharing app's brief ban in the United States.
At the time of publication, a search for "TikTok phone" produces over 24,000 results, with the lowest "Buy it Now" listing selling for $400 and the highest asking for (checks notes) $4,970,400 million with CapCut, a video editing app also owned by ByteDance pre-installed in addition to TikTok.