Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Deals

Will a VPN work on the TikTok ban? Here’s everything you need to know

Add as a preferred source on Google
TikTok logo on an iPhone.
Digital Trends

TikTok is one of the most popular apps on the planet, and unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard by now that it’s likely going to get banned in the United States. For the roughly 170 million monthly TikTok users in the US, the potential ban is disappointing news, to say the least. We’re happy to report that there’s still hope, though. If you already have the app on your phone, you can actually bypass the ban somewhat quite easily. In fact, the main way to do it is through the use of a VPN, and given how common VPNs are these days, you may already have a paid VPN subscription that you could potentially utilize. It’s also worth noting that while free VPN options exist, they may not work as well as paid VPNs, especially when it comes to country choices and speeds.

But let’s backtrack a bit – you’ve probably heard of virtual private networks before, what exactly do they do? In short, a VPN helps you protect your privacy by disguising your location, allowing you to change your apparent location and view websites in other countries as if you were a resident.

How does this play into the TikTok ban? Well, it works the same way as accessing geo-locked content on streaming services. Essentially, you just load up your VPN onto your phone or tablet and connect it to any country where TikTok isn’t banned, and that’s pretty much it. In fact, when India banned TikTok recently, that’s how many people got around the ban at the time, and the same applies to most app bans around the world and VPN usage.

Buy Now

How you can access TikTok with Surfshark VPN

If you don’t have a VPN or are using a free service, then you may want to consider snagging a subscription to Surfshark, one of the most widely used VPNs on the market. Not only are speeds incredibly fast, but it also has a very wide selection of servers across the world, so you can pick the country that best fits your needs. Plus, depending on your needs and which plan you go for, you can get additional things like an antivirus and data leak checking to make sure your data hasn’t been compromised.

Not only that, but it also has great pricing. You can snag a 27-month subscription to its Surfshark One plan for $73 rather than the usual $485, which is a whopping 85% discount.

Buy Now

Albert Bassili
Former Deals Writer
Albert’s been a tech and gaming writer for over a decade, writing for websites such as CNET, PopSci, and How-To-Geek, and…
What is Copilot? Everything you need to know about Microsoft’s AI assistant
There’s a Copilot for almost everything now. Here’s which one you need
Microsoft Copilot Banner Featured

Microsoft has attached the Copilot name to so many products that a simple question like "What is Copilot?" now needs a little more context. There is the main Microsoft Copilot chatbot, Copilot inside Microsoft 365, GitHub Copilot for developers, Gaming Copilot for Xbox users, and a separate category of Windows laptops called Copilot+ PCs.

For most people, Microsoft Copilot means the company’s general-purpose AI assistant. So you'd expect it to answer questions, search the web, generate and edit images, and the rest of the usual AI chatbot features. You can access it through a browser or dedicated apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It is also integrated into Microsoft Edge, the Xbox mobile app, and Game Bar on Windows 11.

Read more
I tried to parody the most absurd AI products, but the tech industry beat me to it
The joke was supposed to be that every household object gets cameras, AI insights, and a premium tier. Apparently, that’s now a business plan
Imaginary AI products

I wanted to invent an AI product so silly that no founder could turn it into a seed round.

It had to solve a problem nobody had, collect far more data than the problem deserved, and turn normal behavior into an insight that sounded vaguely disappointed in its owner. Somewhere around the third feature, it would ask for a subscription.

Read more
I spent a fortune on a Copilot+ PC, and I’ve barely ever touched Microsoft’s AI
Microsoft needs to give Copilot+ PC owners a reason to use Copilot
Copilot

There is a dedicated Copilot key on my ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED. Months after buying the laptop, it may be one of the least important keys on the entire keyboard. My Zenbook UM3406 runs on AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series processor, complete with a dedicated NPU offering up to 50 TOPS of AI performance. That qualifies it as a Copilot+ PC, which makes it a part of what Microsoft once described as the new era for Windows.

AI is already a regular part of my workday. I use it for research, brainstorming, and working through ideas. But rather than relying on something built into the Windows OS, I've relied on the likes of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Read more