I don’t know the specifics behind it, but even if VPN does work, or accessing TT through a web app instead of an app, that’s still 1-2 hurdles for the average user to jump through for their fix.
Some people will just not bother and then peace out to instagram reels or YT shorts or just drop off that kind of social media.
It fully depends on how many users are “savvy” enough to navigate those hurdles and how badly they want to navigate those hurdles.
In my experience when you’re working with a dedicated user base and you make a significant change, you can expect to lose around half your audience. Barriers to entry are probably going to increase that number, but obviously this is anecdotal evidence for future events.
Ah I remember this phone. I remember when it finally died and I replaced it with an Android 2 that was R2-D2 themed. It still had a physical keyboard because I very distinctly remembered not wanting to use a touchscreen keyboard for everything.