Hong Kong
CNN
—
As Supreme Court justices mull TikTok’s future in the United States, a growing number of American social media users have responded by opting for an unlikely alternative: Xiaohongshu, a hugely popular social media app in China .
The application, which means “Little Red Book”, often abbreviated by American users to RedNote, rose to first position on Apple’s American App Store on Tuesday.
Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is one of China’s largest social media platforms, with 300 million users, according to research firm Qian Gua. Described as China’s answer to Instagram, the app has become particularly popular for sharing tips on travel, makeup and fashion.
But even though it has cornered the Chinese market, it has not gained much prominence beyond the Chinese-speaking world. Until now.
Xiaohongshu is gaining popularity around the world in the same week that TikTok could potentially go offline in the United States.
U.S. mobile downloads of Xiaohongshu have nearly tripled over the past week, compared to the previous seven days, San Francisco-based market intelligence company Sensor Tower told CNN on Tuesday.
Within two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Xiaohongshu, Reuters reported, citing a person close to the company. CNN has contacted Xiaohongshu for comment.
As of Wednesday, the hashtag “TikTok refugee” had garnered nearly 250 million views and more than 5.5 million comments. Many American users they had joined were an act of defiance against Washington’s decision on TikTok.
“Our government is crazy if they think we are going to defend this ban on TikTok,” a user called Heather Roberts said in a video message on Xiaohongshu, which garnered more than 45,000 likes. “We’re just going to use a new Chinese app, and here we are.”
“It’s so much better than TikTok,” another self-described “refugee” said in a video message. “The Americans are coming here…sorry, you will hate us, but I promise we will do our best.”
How do Chinese and American users interact on the platform?
The sudden migration of American users to Xiaohongshu has created an unlikely platform for Chinese and American users to interact with each other.
“I just want to reassure you that we want to try to find a way to communicate with you, to be respectful to your community,” one user said. “We want to be good guests.”
Some American newbies have called on their compatriots to respect the platform’s Chinese users.
“Just a quick message for US users coming here: please don’t bring politics here. We want to have fun here, we want to enjoy here and we want to show respect to the people who are already here,” one user posted.
Most Chinese users have warmly welcomed the newcomers, with some even sharing video tutorials to help new “TikTok refugees” navigate the app.
“This could be a historic moment,” commented one Chinese user. “I feel like so much has changed in an instant. Ordinary people from our two countries have never really been in contact before… I hope everyone can take advantage of this brief opportunity to engage in meaningful exchanges of ideas.
One person even took advantage of the influx of American internet users to ask for help with their English homework in a viral post that garnered more than 2,000 likes.
Ivy Yang, a Chinese technology analyst and founder of consultancy Wavelet Strategy, said new U.S. users have “unexpectedly created one of the most organic forms of cultural exchange between the United States and China that we have seen in recent years.
“Users are finding creative ways to transcend language barriers, navigate cultural differences, and coexist in fascinating ways,” she added. “This real-time community development could have a lasting impact, and I am cautiously optimistic. »
For a brief period in 2021, similar exchanges were also seen on the social media app Clubhouse, where Chinese and American users engaged in uncensored dialogue on sensitive topics in virtual chat rooms, before censors Chinese do not intervene to block the application.
As of Tuesday, only a “very small proportion” of U.S. newcomers’ posts on Xiaohongshu addressed sensitive topics in China, where online speech is carefully censored, according to an analysis by media intelligence firm PeakMetrics.
Well, for starters, Xiaohongshu wasn’t designed for English speakers, while TikTok isn’t in China at all.
The name Xiaohongshu could be seen as an ironic reference to a red-covered book containing quotes from Communist China’s founding father, Mao Zedong.
One of the app’s key features is its content algorithm, which focuses on users’ interests rather than who they follow. Some users say this promotes more original content and reduces the dominance of powerful influencers.
The company behind the app, Xingin Information Technology, was founded by Charlwin Mao and Miranda Qu and is headquartered in Shanghai.
TikTok is owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance and was designed for a global audience. TikTok is also not accessible in China, where a sister app, Douyin, serves the domestic market.
Lemon8, a lifestyle community app also owned by ByteDance, is currently ranked as the second most downloaded app on Apple’s US store.
Lemon8 has a video sharing feature similar to TikTok. Inspired by Instagram and Pinterest, it first launched in the United States in 2023.
It’s unclear whether TikTok’s impending ban could also jeopardize Lemon8’s U.S. operations.
The US law passed by Congress last year states that the divestiture or ban requirement will generally apply to all apps owned or operated by ByteDance, meaning that even though Lemon8 was not explicitly mentioned in law, the ban can also extend to platforms.
CNN has contacted ByteDance for comment.