TikTok users are pushing back against the looming TikTok ban set to potentially go into effect Sunday by downloading a Chinese app called RedNote, which some users are calling “China’s TikTok.”
TikTok’s ban was largely derived from national security concerns related to TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and many users are moving to RedNote as an explicit form of protest.
Known as Xiaohongshu in China, RedNote is a social media platform that includes images, short-form videos, community building tools, shopping and more. It is not a one-to-one TikTok clone, and it is not owned by ByteDance. It is owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology.
American TikTokers who fear losing the platform have suggested their followers join them in downloading RedNote to send a message to the U.S. government, as well as the social media company Meta, which stands to gain new users of its TikTok-like product, Reels, if the ban goes into effect. Meta reportedly used a Republican lobbying firm to spread ill will toward TikTok in 2022.
Some have said that following a ban, they are prepared to do weeklong Meta blackouts, meaning they will not use any Meta apps, such as Instagram and Facebook.
On Monday, RedNote was the top free-to-download app on the Apple App Store, followed by TikTok’s sister app Lemon8.
Users say that while they wait to see whether the U.S. Supreme Court will give TikTok an eleventh-hour reprieve, they plan to use RedNote if TikTok goes away Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know about RedNote.
What is RedNote, and what are people saying about it?
RedNote is a Shanghai-based Chinese-language social media app that offers a little bit of everything Americans are used to in a social media app. Users can share videos, post pictures, make text posts and access a host of shopping features.
The interface is different from TikTok’s in that a video does not immediately start playing upon the app’s opening and users must log in to begin using it. However, it is similar in that it serves content it thinks each user will like.
Although RedNote has been available in English, some users reported Monday that it appeared to be more accessible for its American user base as its popularity grew.
Some posts Monday on RedNote welcomed “TikTok refugees” to the platform.
Other users joked about meeting their TikTok-designated “Chinese spy” on RedNote, with some Chinese users chiming in that they were happy to find their American counterparts.
How are memes driving people to the platform?
On TikTok, some videos of people joking about saying goodbye to their “Chinese spy” (some in Mandarin) have racked up millions of views and likes. The memes are part of a deeper resentment some users feel toward the U.S. government for moving to ban TikTok in the name of security and safety even though some lawmakers use it themselves, as well as toward the continued politicization of other social media companies, like X and Meta.
The anger was on full display on TikTok as some explained why they were downloading RedNote.
“I’m going to download it on my phone. I’m going to let it track other apps. I’m going to give it permission to see my location and all of my contacts and then I’m just going to let it sit there,” a TikTok user posted. “I’m going to let it sit there as a little window through which my personal Chinese spy can see everything that I’m doing.”
Others had a more somber tone discussing their decisions to download RedNote, suggesting the U.S. government’s intention was to hurt its people, many of whom have built large followings and full-time careers on TikTok.
“Our government, I’m convinced, loves and thrives seeing us unhappy and seeing us struggle and seeing us poor,” another TikToker said. “Seeing that RedNote, another Chinese app, which is owned and hosted in China, is the No. 1 app in the App Store today is just beautiful.”
When was RedNote released?
RedNote launched in 2013. While it grew steadily over the years, its biggest boom came during the pandemic, which is when it rose in popularity.
How many users are on the app?
RedNote has 300 million monthly active users, according to TechCrunch. TechCrunch reported that women are 79% of the user base.
Could RedNote be banned like TikTok?
Like TikTok and Lemon8, the short answer appears to be yes — however, it is not as straightforward as it is for TikTok and Lemon8, whose parent company, ByteDance, is named in the law.
Experts noted that the law gives the executive branch the authority to deem a country a “foreign adversary” and that in doing so it can choose to ban an app that comes from that country. In this case, China is already deemed a “foreign adversary” in the TikTok ban, and therefore the executive branch could theoretically decide that other apps from China must be banned.
But lawmakers who crafted the bill said in interviews with The Washington Post that while it could be used for foreign-controlled social media platforms, the core intention of the ban was to target TikTok and its sister applications.
