US users begin to migrate to the Xiaohongshu application due to possible TikTok ban

Many TikTok users in the US have begun to migrate to another Chinese application due to the possibility that TikTok will be banned in the country. RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in the Asian country, has become the most downloaded free application in the Apple App Store in the United States.

Faced with the threat of a ban on TikTok, American users of this platform are migrating en masse to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu or RedNote, making it the most downloaded app in the United States.

Some of the “TikTok refugees,” as they call themselves, say they chose the Chinese alternative Xiaohongshu in protest of the TikTok ban.

The US Supreme Court is set to decide on a law that stipulates that TikTok must separate itself from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by January 19, or face a ban in the US over national security concerns.

After the judges appeared inclined to uphold the law, large numbers of TikTok users began creating accounts on Xiaohongshu, incorporating hashtags such as #tiktokrefugee or #tiktok into their posts.

As of Monday, Xiaohongshu became the most downloaded free app on Apple's App Store in the United States.

Xiaohongshu, which means “Little Red Book” in English, is a Chinese social media app that combines e-commerce, short videos, and publishing features.

In recent years, the app has gained popularity in China and other regions and countries with Chinese diaspora, such as Malaysia and Taiwan, amassing 300 million active users each month, mostly young women, who use it as a search engine. for product, travel and restaurant recommendations, as well as makeup and skincare tutorials.

The #tiktokrefugee topic has racked up more than 160,000 posts on Xiaohongshu, many of which are videos of American users introducing themselves and asking for tips on how to navigate the app, which they call “RedNote.”

Xiaohongshu has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Other American users who have joined Xiaohongshu have frankly said that they joined the app in protest of the potential ban on TikTok.

So far, Chinese Xiaohongshu users have welcomed American users, and some have offered to teach them Chinese.

Others have given advice on how to navigate the Chinese internet, warning new users not to mention or discuss anything considered politically sensitive, as they could be censored. In some cases, Chinese students have asked Americans for help with their English homework.

Like most internet apps and services in China, Xiaohongshu is subject to censorship. Platforms generally enforce censorship by removing or limiting the visibility of content that Beijing considers politically sensitive.

Large Western platforms, such as Google and Facebook, are blocked in China.