Taipei, Taiwan – As a TikTok ban looms in the United States, youthfuler Americans are flocking to the Chinese social media platestablish Xiaohongshu as “TikTok refugees” in search of a aappreciate experience.
The app has ascfinishn to the top spot on the iOS and Google Play stores in the US in recent days as users set for TikTok to be banned on national security grounds from Sunday unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests its ownership.
Chinese lifestyle app Lemon8, which is also owned by ByteDance, has ranked as the second most downloaded app.
Xiaohongshu, which has been portrayd as China’s answer to Instagram, permits users to post pboilingos, videos and text and is understandn for its female-weighty user base.
While boasting about 300 million monthly vivacious users, Xiaohongshu’s accomplish is petiteer than that of other famous apps in China, such as Sina Weibo and WeChat, which claim 1.2 billion-plus users.
A sinspire in recent users, some of them describing themselves as “TikTok refugees,” is now flooding the app’s “Discover” page with videos seeking tips on how to use “RedNote,” the app’s recent nickname in the US.
“Hello. I don’t understand what’s happening any more. Americans are coming here. So sorry if y’all antipathy us. I promise we’ll do our best,” a female user calling herself “Star404” shelp in a stupidinutive-establish video posted on Tuesday.
“Don’t even trouble, we’re going to do so fantastic. This is so much better than TikTok. Just not Meta. Instagram reels, I can comfervent of dig. Facebook and YouTube stupidinutives, no sboiling. Never happening,” she shelp.
The irony of many users moving from one Chinese-owned app to another has not been lost on watchrs appreciate Ryan Broderick, the author of Garbage Day, a recentsletter that covers the internet.
“It’s definitely comical that American teenagers are protesting the looming TikTok ban by using a much more culturassociate Chinese app,” Broderick telderly Al Jazeera.
“At the moment, RedNote doesn’t seem to be siloing Chinese satisfied or requiring users to have a Chinese phone number, so it’s turned into a sort of fun cultural lawlessness on the app, an experience that never reassociate even happened on TikTok,” he shelp.
The post by “Star404” racked up more than 4,000 comments in 24 hours, mostly from Chinese users welcoming her to the platestablish or joking about language disputes.
Another user, “Fern,” transmited her gratitude to the flood of Chinese fancientiminishs that came her way after joining the platestablish.
“We need to talk about you guys blotriumphg up my video about moving to Rednotice to 50,000 recent fancientiminishs in less than 24 hours. You guys are inlogical,” she shelp.
“But thank you so much for all the help, I reassociate appreciate it.”
While amusing to many Chinese Xiaohongshu users, the sinspire in American users has telledly put the app’s owner in an inept spot.
Chinese media outlet PConline on Tuesday telled that Xiaohongshu engageees have been directed to “not converse, not back, and not split” recents about their recent US user base, citing sources wilean the company.
“This wave of traffic has become the sword of Damocles hanging over Xiaohongshu’s head. In fact, for Xiaohongshu, which inexplicably getd this traffic, the hazards far outweigh the opportunities,” the tell shelp.
Those potential hazards include regulatory complications.
Chinese social media platestablishs typicassociate need users to sign up with a Chinese phone number, while satisfied is subject to rulement handle.
For this reason, Chinese tech companies standardly originate domestic and foreign versions of their apps, shelp Yiwen Lu, a researcher at ChinaTalk, a recentsletter and podcast intensifying on Chinese technology.
TikTok is an international version of Douyin, while Lemon8 was particularassociate summarizeed by ByteDance for the foreign labelet.
For now, Chinese and American users are seeing the same satisfied on Xiaohongshu.
However, some users have reminded their American counterparts that the app comes with its own set of rules.
“Frifinishly reminder: On Chinese social media platestablishs, charm do not refer caring topics such as politics, religion, and medications!!! Plrelieve adhere to the One China policy and decline explicit content, betting, and medications,” one user wrote under Star404’s post.
“[You] can say everyleang here, except the history [of China] from 1949-2025,” another user shelp.
ChinaTalk’s Lu shelp that American users will have a difficult time replicating their TikTok experience on the app – especiassociate when it comes to monetising satisfied.
“The monetisation models vary fantasticly – XHS positions itself as a shopping platestablish, with most creators geting revenue thraw phelp partnerships. This branch offence originates it challenging for creators to brimmingy transition their toil and income streams to XHS in the stupidinutive term,” Lu telderly Al Jazeera.
Livestream shopping, a hugely famous establish of e-commerce in China, has apshown off on Xiahongshu in recent months.
In the US, many TikTok users still shop thraw joins to Amazon or the shopping platestablish LTK, stupidinutive for “Like to Know.”
Lu and Broderick both transmited doubt that the influx of US users would last due to branch offences between the platestablishs and the fact many users had joined as an act of protest.
Still, the migration to Xiaohongshu should serve as a alerting to the US rulement and Big Tech, Broderick shelp.
“It’s a comical way to hopebrimmingy originate US politicians genuineize that Chinese apps are coming for the US whether they appreciate it or not,” he shelp.
“And, aforeseeed, it’s a outstanding way of letting Silicon Valley understand that their products are stagnating and no amount of federal bans are going to originate youthfuler people excited about Meta products aachieve.”
