Except access to the app didn't have to stop. TikTok chose to manipulate users and Trump by going beyond the law and kissing Trump's rear. It was only US companies that couldn't host the app (eg Google and Apple). Users in the US could have still accessed the app, and even side-loaded it on Android, but TikTok purposely blocked them and pretended it was the ban. They were able to do it because they know the exact location of every TikTok user whether you use a VPN or not.
Source:
> If not sold within a year, the law would make it illegal for web-hosting services to support TikTok, and it would force Google and Apple to remove TikTok from app stores — rendering the app unusable with time.
They don't know your exact location, but they would flag your account/device depending on your App Store localization and IP. I tested this, it doesn't work from outside of the US with a US IP, doesn't work outside of the US with the app downloaded on a phone set to US with a non-US IP, but instead requires a phone localized to download the app from outside the US, being outside the US, with an account that hasn't registered as in the US.
So no, it doesn't use your exact location, it just uses the censorship mechanisms that Apple and Google gracefully provide.
