TikTok and Lemon8 Merge and Ban Explained
TikTok users are flocking to Lemon8

In April 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law requiring TikTok to be sold to an owner outside of China within a year or face a national ban in the United States. Since then, everyone from A-list tech leaders to Z-list influencers has closely monitored TikTok's actions.
Seven months later, TikTok merged with Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned app, sparking speculation that the integration was a strategy to shift TikTok’s user base to Lemon8 in anticipation of a potential ban. However, a dramatic development on January 18, 2025, took everyone by surprise as both TikTok and Lemon8 were officially banned and instantly removed from the app store.
While TikTok has since been restored to app stores, ByteDance’s other products, including Lemon8, creating significant challenges for content creators who rely on these tools for video editing and social media.
In this article, we’ll explain how to merge your TikTok account with Lemon8 to help mitigate disruptions when one platform is suddenly banned, helping you maintain consistency and continuity in your content strategy, no matter the challenges.
Table of Contents
- Why Were TikTok and Lemon8 banned?
- What is the Lemon8 app?
- Why has TikTok merged with Lemon8?
- Is Lemon8 safe?
- Will TikTok change following the Lemon8 integration?
- Do I need to have a Lemon8 account to use TikTok?
- How to merge TikTok and Lemon8

Why Were TikTok and Lemon8 Banned?
On January 18, 2025, TikTok and Lemon8 were officially banned in the United States under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The US government cited concerns that both apps, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, could be compelled to share American user data with the Chinese government, posing a potential national security threat.
This ban followed ByteDance’s failure to meet the January 19, 2025, deadline to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner as mandated by the legislation.
While TikTok has since been restored to USA app stores, Lemon8 and other ByteDance products, are still unavailable. Despite its growing user base and features like dual logins with TikTok, Lemon8's ties to ByteDance likely contributed to its inclusion in the ban. At the time of writing, there has been no update on if or when Lemon8 will be reinstated.
What is the Lemon8 App?
Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, the same Chinese company that owns TikTok. The app is a video and photo-sharing platform that has been likened to both Instagram and Pinterest.
Targeting a Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience, Lemon8 provides users with unique creative tools, collages, filters, effects, stickers, and text templates to create vibrant posts.
Similar to TikTok, their standout features include a community-based 'For You' section, discover-themed hashtags, and in-app editing functions.
Lemon8 state on the App Store: "You'll find a whole library of intuitive templates, stickers, filters, and fonts for your photos and videos,"

Why Has TikTok Merged with Lemon8?
TikTok made no mention of the potential ban when announcing its integration with Lemon8 in November 2024.
Instead, TikTok described its partnership with Lemon8 as a way to help users seamlessly create, edit, upload, and share photos.
Given TikTok’s focus on short-form videos since its rise in 2018, the move raised eyebrows and was widely interpreted as a strategy to redirect users to Lemon8 in case of a TikTok ban.
However, given the fact that both TikTok and Lemon8 were banned, the plan appears to have backfired, and may only prove valuable if users continue to stay on Lemon8 despite TikTok's return to the app store.
Is Lemon8 Safe?
Yes, Lemon8 is safe to download and use.
The app was first launched in Japan in 2020 and has expanded to markets across the US and Southeast Asia over the past four years.
It currently has over 17 million installations, a 4.5 rating, and is currently the second most downloaded 'Lifestyle' app in the USA.

Will TikTok Change Following the Lemon8 Integration?
Currently, no changes have been made to the TikTok interface following the integration with Lemon8. However, that's not to say TikTok's layout could be adapted in the future should they wish to continue promoting a partnership with Lemon8. For instance, in the days leading up to TikTok’s ban, from January 10 to January 20, 2025, there was a noticeable increase in influencer marketing campaigns encouraging users to sign up for Lemon8.
In terms of the Lemon8 layout, some significant changes were announced in November. Changes to the app include:
- Your TikTok username will be used on Lemon8
- Your Lemon8 profile link will be shown on your TikTok profile publicly by default (you can choose not to show it by editing your TikTok profile)
- Lemon8 direct messages will be disabled
- Lemon8 private pos feature will be disabled
- If you choose not to log in with a TikTok account, you may continue using the app until May 2025
The news has left many users frustrated as their Lemon8 experience was significantly altered by the TikTok integration.
@kiuyanu Moving on, wonder how will Lemon8 be different or the same style as TikTok? #lemon8singapore #socialmedianews #socialmediaplatforms
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Do I Need a Lemon8 Account to Use TikTok?
No, despite the integration on November 20th, you do not explicitly need a Lemon8 account to continue using TikTok. However, this may change in the future, which is why many people are looking to sign up before any mandatory ruling.
On the flip side, to use Lemon8 in the future you will need a TikTok account. The deadline to set up a TikTok account and merge the two is May 2025.
How to Merge TikTok and Lemon8
Download Lemon8
It has been confirmed that TikTok and Lemon8 will share a unified user login. This means creators can use one account to log in to both platforms, promoting the ability to cross-share content between the two apps.
To create an account, search 'Lemon8' in the Google Play or Apple App store.
Sign up (use your TikTok email)
Next, sign up to Lemon8.
To fast-track the process of integrating TikTok and Lemon8, you will need to use the same email address used to register with TikTok.
Enter your personal preferences
Submit your date of birth, pronouns, and information about your hobbies and interests. If you don't have any interest in posting on Lemon8 and simply want to register for TikTok integration purposes, you can skip these preferences.
Prepare for future TikTok and Lemon8 advancements
Currently, it is unclear if TikTok will develop a cross-posting system between the two.
However, TikTok officially spoke of the integration and hinted at a cross-posting system explaining:
"This integration is designed to make photo sharing more feasible and fluid for all TikTok creators, expanding their reach and engagement potential,"
We will continuously update this story with relevant information. If you're already logged into Lemon8 then you can read Kapwing's complete guide on how to post and build on audience on Lemon8.