Americans Are Fleeing TikTok for RedNote—But Will It Last?

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As the US TikTok ban looms, there's another Chinese social app on the rise: RedNote.

RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu in China, is currently the top free app on the US iOS App Store. It's also making gains among US Android users, gaining over 200,000 users in the past month—over half of which downloaded in the past few days, according to AppFigures data. Americans don't need a Chinese phone number to use the app, which has commerce features like TikTok.

Xiaohongshu, founded in 2013 as a shopping app and sometimes referred to as the "Instagram of China," lets users post photos and videos and can also be viewed on the web without an account like TikTok and its Chinese version, Douyin. A quick scroll of RedNote on the web without an account shows mostly photos and videos of Chinese women, with some English speakers in the mix as well as multiple fan accounts praising Luigi Mangione, the accused UnitedHealth CEO killer. We also found celebrity fan accounts, cosplay videos, NBA videos, and cat videos, too—a lot of the same type of content you'd find on TikTok.

In the past few days, a slew of English-speaking users have given RedNote five-star reviews on its Google Play Store page, sharing that they moved to RedNote because TikTok has a pending ban. "When I first downloaded the app it was all in Chinese and [after] a few hours it automatically changed to English. I have good hopes for this app. Although it is a learning curve, and requires us to be respectful of the existing Chinese culture, and community. I am having a fun time interacting with locals, and learning Mandarin," one reviewer wrote.

Chinese and American users have been interacting on the app via translators and other means, with some China-based users welcoming the self-described "TikTok refugees" or "TikTok migrants." A number of English videos have commenters asking for "moots," slang for mutual friends or followers, as they join the app.

Chinese state media and government representatives are open to this new influx of English speakers on RedNote. "China has always supported and encouraged strengthening cultural exchanges and promoting mutual understanding among the peoples of all countries," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing.

But some Chinese users warned that the influx of Americans to RedNote could result in Americans taking over the platform and influencing non-American users, Reuters reported.

The sudden influx of English speakers to RedNote is a bit ironic, though, considering the US TikTok ban was approved because of concerns over its Chinese owner, ByteDance, and ties to the Chinese government. RedNote is also a Chinese company, but not owned by ByteDance.

While TikTok is preparing to pull itself out of the US come Sunday, it's possible President-elect Donald Trump could try to bring it back or stop the ban once he takes office. TikTok CEO Shou Chew may not be giving up just yet, either. Chew reportedly met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and is planning to attend Trump's inauguration. Trump, who previously advocated for a TikTok ban, has recently praised the app and is now weighing an executive order that could overturn or halt the ban.

In 2021, RedNote was still only available in China. The app wanted to expand internationally at that time, but it had to contend with Chinese government requirements for cybersecurity reviews for any company with over a million users that wanted to expand abroad, Business Insider reported in 2022.

Despite that, it launched an English version of its site in 2021, and is now available on the US app stores. ByteDance-owned Lemon8, another social app, is also making gains, ranking second after RedNote on the US iOS App Store.