TikTok DNS traffic: the 14-hour shutdown and the slow return
The US ban on TikTok took effect on January 19, 2025, with service restoration beginning roughly 14 hours later. Data from Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver shows that DNS traffic to TikTok-related domains began falling sharply just after 03:30 UTC (22:30 ET on January 18), and that recovery to near pre-shutdown levels took nearly two days, aligning with Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20.
The ban originated from the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which required ByteDance to divest over security concerns. The Supreme Court upheld the law on January 17, 2025.
Timeline of the DNS traffic decline and recovery
- January 19, after 03:30 UTC: DNS traffic dropped by up to 85% versus the previous week, with further declines in the following hours.
- January 19, 17:30 UTC: After a 14-hour shutdown, TikTok announced service restoration. DNS traffic began a slight recovery after 18:00 UTC but stayed near shutdown levels for several hours. ByteDance's network (AS396986) showed a similar trend.
- January 20, 06:00 UTC: A short-lived spike in DNS traffic occurred, still 25% below the previous week.
- January 20, 14:00–15:00 UTC: Traffic moved from 27% to 18% below pre-shutdown levels.
- January 20, 17:00 UTC: During Trump's inauguration, traffic rose to 12% below pre-shutdown levels, then to 10% below at 18:00 UTC.
- January 21, 05:00 UTC: Traffic was 7% below pre-shutdown levels.
Service restoration and network-level signals
TikTok's January 19 statement thanked Trump for providing "the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties." Some users nonetheless reported access difficulties in the hours following the announcement, even as a message indicating the ban was over appeared for US users.
At the autonomous system level, traffic from ByteDance's network (AS396986) to Cloudflare dropped by as much as 95% after 03:30 UTC on January 19. Notably, this traffic never fully recovered, remaining around 80% below pre-shutdown levels — an indication that ByteDance may have shifted to other infrastructure after the ban.
RedNote's surge and its limits
DNS traffic to TikTok alternatives, led by RedNote (Xiaohongshu), had been building since January 13. On January 19, it surged by up to 74% around 04:00 UTC compared to the previous week, with lower growth (around 52%) later that day. Interest waned after TikTok announced restoration, with growth falling to 17% by 22:00 UTC and declining further afterward.
Daily US DNS traffic for TikTok alternatives peaked on January 19 with a 291% increase versus the previous week, following earlier growth of 116% on January 15.
RedNote's international reach
The RedNote-driven surge extended beyond the US, with notable daily DNS traffic increases in several countries. Peak day and growth percentages compared to the previous week:
- Mexico (+1200% on January 19)
- Brazil (+185% on January 20)
- France (+165% on January 19)
- Germany (+142% on January 19)
- Canada (+119% on January 19)
- Spain (+106% on January 19)
- Portugal (+97% on January 19)
- The UK (+86% on January 19)
- Australia (+19% on January 15)
- Japan (+18% on January 18)
In many cases, DNS traffic had been growing for more than a week, so countries with more recent growth may show higher percentages. These trends are consistent with RedNote rising to the top of Android and iOS app store charts, according to Data.ai.
