Alternative to TikTok? Douyin now open to international users, claim netizens

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, which is limited to domestic users can now be accessed internationally amid the brief ban of the popular social media platform TikTok, according to a few X users.

"Wow, this is huge. I just tried it myself with a foreign phone number (you can apparently choose any country, see screenshot) and it's true: you can now join Douyin - the Chinese version of TikTok - as an international user.

Which means the Great Firewall is coming down in the most unexpected way: with the world joining the China side of the wall.

Really feels like a Berlin wall moment, except in the opposite direction," an X user wrote.

Douyin is a Chinese social media platform where users can create and share short videos. It is considered to be the Chinese version of TikTok. It is owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

Social media reactions

Social media users reacted to this recent development.

One of the users asked about the Chinese YouTube and Google versions,"What about the Chinese YouTube version? Also, Chinese Google Version. If China does this, it's over for western Tech dominance."

“Tried it just now told me to bind it with a chinese number or chinese ID??? I live in Tunisia.... Are we banned lol I had hope I've been trying to make one for a while now," added another user.

To this the X user said, “I downloaded it but the interface is all Chinese. Do you know if there's a way to switch it to English, or some other hack that would allow me to use it?”

“Some people are replying that it doesn't work for them as they're asked for a Chinese ID. I wasn't asked this: I managed to create an account simply with a foreign phone number. Maybe those affected are downloading an older version of the app? Not sure," commented another user.

TikTok ban

TikTok was banned for nearly a day in the US over national security threats. The services of the popular social media platform were restored after President-elect Donald Trump assured that no penalties would be imposed on service providers.