In TikTok's final hours, creators spilled their secrets. Now, the app is coming back.

It's the end of an era… or is it?

Around 10.30pm Eastern Time on Saturday January 18 in the United States (Sunday afternoon Australian time), TikTok shut off access to its 170 million US users.

"Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now," reads a pop-up message when users go to access the app.

"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!"

The threat of the impending US TikTok ban has been looming large over creators in recent weeks.

As creators and users of the app begged for a reversal of the decision to ban the app, President Biden said that he would leave TikTok's fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who will re-assume office on January 20.

At the time, Trump said that he would "most likely" offer the app a 90-day extension while they look at the "very big situation" more carefully.

Now, less than 24 hours after its nationwide shutdown, the app looks to be making a comeback.

Listen to Mamamia's twice-daily news podcast, The Quicky, break down the TikTok ban. Post continues below.

Overnight TikTok announced it was "in the process of restoring service" to Americans after going dark the night before.

"We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over seven million small businesses to thrive," it said in a statement.

"It's a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

By Monday, users in the US were reporting being greeted with a "welcome back" message.

It states: "Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the US! You can continue to create, share and discover all the things you love on TikTok."

TikTok is officially back online in the US pic.twitter.com/hVd0Hy1ZKz

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) January 19, 2025

Creators spill their secrets.

In the lead up to the app going dark, US creators used their final moments to offer up confessions about their content, coming clean about the lies they've told in the name of content. And their followers were not happy.

The trend uses an audio clip from Family Guy. Moments away from drowning, Peter Griffin makes a confession to his family, saying, "Well, since we're all gonna die, there's one more secret I feel I have to share with you: I did not care for The Godfather."

Lip-syncing to the audio, TikTokers offered up their own confessions.

Controversial beauty influencer Meredith Duxbury, who went viral for using an absolutely wild 10 pumps of foundation, admitted that yes, she was wiping some of it off before doing the final reveal.

@meredithduxbury

or did i?

♬ eredeti hang – Griffins4U - Griffins4U

Kaeli Mae, an influencer who went viral for *checks notes* making fancy ice cubes, admitted that she "never actually used any of those special ice cubes".

@kaelimaee

had to get this off my chest if we really going out HAHAHAHA IM SORRRYYY

♬ eredeti hang – Griffins4U - Griffins4U

Lifestyle TikToker Serena Kerrigan confessed that she had been using Monjauro, which is a weight loss drug similar to Ozempic.

"Yes, that was a Monjauro pen in my fridge," she wrote. "It quieted the food noise that held me hostage since middle school."

@serenakerrigan

my body my choice 💅🏼

♬ eredeti hang – Griffins4U - Griffins4U

Having previously denied using the drug, and branding herself as the 'Queen of Confidence', many fans were not happy that she kept this a secret for so long.

"To market yourself as the queen of confidence and then undergo such a rapid weight loss and not say anything about it is crazyyyyyy work and completely undermined your authenticity [in my opinion]," one user wrote.

Kerrigan replied, "[One hundred per cent]. I hear you, and I hated keeping it to myself. Honestly, I was scared because of the stigma, but not being open made me feel inauthentic, and I regret that. We live, we grow, and we learn."

Another commented, "Don't trust influencers."

DJ Xandra Pohl, a content creator who started out sharing her college lifestyle videos in Miami, also made a rather shocking (or not so much, when it comes to her avid followers) announcement.

Rather than using the trend to expose her own lies, she turned the spotlight on someone else's. After much speculation about her split from her boyfriend, Pohl used the trend to confirm that he had, in fact, cheated on her.

Watch DJ Xandra Pohl revealing that her boyfriend cheated. Article continues after video.

While some of her followers were excited to hear the gossip, with one user commenting, "HELL YEAH GIRL SPILL THAT TEA," others were not surprised at all.

"We've been waiting for this one," someone wrote.

"A collective 'We know girl,'" another commented.

TikTok star Madi Monroe also hopped on the trend. However, it's unclear whether her confession is serious or not.

In 2021, Monroe infamously attempted a challenge on TikTok and accidentally set her hair on fire. She was fine, but the video certainly got a ton of views and attention at the time.

However, in her recent video, she claims that she did it on purpose.

"I lit my hair on fire on purpose," she wrote.

In the caption, she added, "Or did I…"

And people are shocked.

@madi

or did i….

♬ eredeti hang – Griffins4U - Griffins4U

"These confessions recently are insane," one user commented.

"NO WAY SHE FOOLED US FOR 5 YEARS," another wrote.

TikToker Charli D'amelio took a more light-hearted approach to the trend.

Uploading a video with the same format, D'amelio poked fun at herself and her popularity, writing, "I still don't understand the hype either tbh".

@charlidamelio

♬ eredeti hang – Griffins4U - Griffins4U

But whether TikTok remains banned in the U.S. or not, it's a good reminder not to believe everything you see online. These confessions from creators show that behind all the perfect posts, there's often a lot more going on than we realise.

It's a good idea to keep things in perspective and remember that not everything we scroll past is as it seems.

Feature Image: TikTok/charlidamelio / TikTok/serenakerrigan.