TikTok has partially returned to the US market, following a nationwide ban, but several other popular ByteDance-owned apps, including Marvel Snap, CapCut, and Lemon8, remain blocked and unavailable for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

The surprise ban on Marvel Snap, a digital card game, has left its developer, Second Dinner, scrambling to restore service. In a post on X, the game studio expressed its surprise, stating, "This outage is a surprise to us and wasn’t planned. MARVEL SNAP isn’t going anywhere." Marvel Snap is published by Nuverse, a game developer owned by ByteDance.

Users attempting to access Marvel Snap, CapCut, and Lemon8 are met with a message similar to the one displayed by TikTok when it went dark on Saturday night. The pop-up inside CapCut reads, "A law banning CapCut has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use CapCut for now. Rest assured, we’re working to restore our service in the U.S. Please stay tuned!"

The ban on ByteDance-owned apps, including TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Shop Seller Center, Hypic, Lark - Team Collaboration, Lark - Rooms Display, Lark Rooms Controller, and Gauth: AI Study Companion, was enacted just hours before the federal divest-or-ban law went into effect on January 19th. The law requires ByteDance to divest its US operations or face penalties.

Both Google and Apple have taken steps to comply with the law, displaying notices to users searching for ByteDance-owned apps. The Play Store says, "Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements," while a banner on the App Store notes, "TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in."

The return of TikTok, albeit partially, has raised questions about the future of the other blocked apps. It remains unclear when Marvel Snap, CapCut, or Lemon8 will start working again or when they will reappear in mobile app stores. The situation has left users and developers alike wondering about the implications of the ban and the future of these popular apps.

The ban has also sparked concerns about the broader implications for the tech industry, particularly in the realm of social media and online services. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how ByteDance will navigate the complex legal landscape and what the future holds for its suite of apps.

In related news, Instagram has announced a blatant CapCut clone, further fueling speculation about the future of the video editing app. Meanwhile, TikTok's service providers still risk billions in penalties for bringing the app back online, adding an extra layer of complexity to the situation.

As the story continues to develop, one thing is clear: the fate of ByteDance-owned apps in the US hangs in the balance, leaving users and developers on edge.