TikTok users flock to another Chinese social media app as US ban looms
With the looming ban on TikTok and little indication that the Supreme Court will stop itconsumers are now looking for a new place to wind down their day. Instead of turning to YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, a group of people — driven by both desperation and pettiness — are jumping to RedNote (also known as Xiaohongshu), a social media app owned by Chinese company Xingyin Information Technology.
So many Americans have downloaded RedNote in the past few days that it has been moved to number one in the Apple App Store. The platform’s existing users, mostly based in China, have been quite friendly of orphaned users, posting videos explaining how to use the app with hashtags like #TikTokRefugeesthat went viral on the app. Meanwhile, US users have paid tribute to their new hosts by posting tribute to President Xi. The countries are already finding a common language, including their own mutual respect about the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Luigi Mangione.
the fact that people can post pictures with comments on rednote and people ask for help with their english hw is so funny pic.twitter.com/6IE7FjSjSO
— ofelia 🏁 (@notopheliagrace) January 13, 2025
xiaohongshu tops app downloads today, *and* “tiktok refugees” are already finding a home among Chinese luigi mangione stans. they joke that they send their data directly to xi jinping in a red envelope. you know the US tech lobby is pissed right now lol pic.twitter.com/eTWMqelcAn
— morgan song (@morgan_sung) January 13, 2025
RedNote isn’t a perfect TikTok replacement — its interface feels more like Pinterest than your standard endless scrolling video, and it’s described as Instagram in China— but it checks a few important boxes for creators worried they’ll lose their followers if TikTok’s looming ban goes into effect on January 19. First, it’s a vertical video platform similar to TikTok. Second, it has built-in shopping features similar to TikTok Store which have become a boon for creators looking to create a showcase stemming from the app’s early days as social shopping app focused on fashion.
But perhaps just as important as the functionality is the statement it makes. While TikTok is being banned by US politicians because of its ties to the Chinese government, which are masked by the fact that the US version of the app is based in Los AngelesRedNote is an expressly Chinese service. It is owned by Xingyin Information Technology, which has direct ties to the Chinese government. Now Americans are flocking to it, quite expressly, because the government told them not to.
It’s hard to say how long the TikTok refugee movement will last in RedNote. The app certainly didn’t hurt before the Americans flooded it – it got it A valuation of $17 billion in 2024 and that was before it broke $1 billion in total revenue for the year. But the new audience could give the app a reason to appeal to a new market with plenty of cash to burn.
American politicians will likely turn their ire on RedNote at some point if it continues to gain momentum. While it’s unlikely that this will ever truly be the new TikTok, it will likely be subject to the same law that would effectively ban TikTok in the US as it applies to any company based in China. The same goes for other explicit TikTok copycats like Lemon8, which will be subject to the banas well.
Frankly, if the US government wants to crack down on these apps so badly, maybe they should block US venture capitalists from pouring money into them instead of banning citizens from using them. In no small part, the US dollars helped to stimulate the tremendous growth of RedNote and TikTokand funders seem happy to profit almost anywhere, regardless of concerns about “national security” or otherwise. It turns out that everyone spends the same amount of money no matter what.
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