Despite the ban on TikTok in India, its official accounts on microblogging platform Twitter and photo-sharing site Instagram have been active since August with regular posts of its videos from the rest of the world to keep users involved in the country.

The company had gone off the social media grid for the whole of July.

According to estimates shared by influencer data analytics firm Qoruz, TikTok India‘s official Twitter account, @TikTok_IN, gained thousands of new users since the ban, going from 47,000 followers in June to 58,000 by July and over 64,000 by the end of August.

The consistent increase in follower count on Twitter could be attributed to users looking to get some news updates on TikTok India’s comeback, said Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, CEO of Qoruz.

On Instagram, TikTok India’s official account, @indiatiktok, has over 4 million followers currently.

After the ban, it gained 60,000 new followers in July, but lost over 80,000 followers in August when the account became active again.

In effect, this left the account with even fewer followers than before the ban.

“The sentiment around what’s happening between the two countries (India and China) could be a strong reason for this loss of users,” said Bhuvaneswar.

“Otherwise, this usually happens when Instagram removes all fake followers, but I don’t think that happened between July and August or it would have made the news,” he added.

The decision to keep running TikTok’s social media accounts on other platforms was made to ensure that the hype around the app does not die down, said influencer marketing experts working closely with TikTok India.

“TikTok is also actively posting on its LinkedIn (professional networking site) account, sharing links explaining that the platform is safe and secure,” said one expert requesting anonymity. TikTok India did not respond to emailed queries from ET.

The stream of user comments on these new posts is indicative of high user engagement.

While the Instagram posts are fraught with heart emojis and a clamour for the app’s return, TikTok India’s Twitter mentions are a mix of hate messages and a celebration of the app’s ban, with a few mentions from fans who still await its app’s comeback.

The higher activity levels come at a time when there have been media reports that Oracle Corp has ousted Microsoft to emerge as the preferred suitor for TikTok and become its technology partner in the US.

The new posts are all international videos of TikTok creators, but these accounts are aligned with the latest in Indian pop culture.

The bio of TikTok India’s Instagram account, for instance, says, “Hum hain rasode mein, dishing out global TikToks,” riffing on the catchphrase “Rasode mein kaun tha?” that has taken the Indian internet by storm in the past few weeks.