Ahead of a likely US TikTok ban, users flee to Chinese apps Xiaohongshu, aka RedNote, and ByteDance's Lemon8, currently the top two apps in the US App Store
and how to prepare Koh Ewe / BBC : TikTok users flock to Chinese app RedNote as US ban looms New York Times : ‘Red Note,’ a Chinese App, Is Dominating Downloads, Thanks to TikTok Users Emily Hallas / Washington Examiner : TikTok denies rumors of sale to Elon Musk Emma Roth / The Verge : Chinese social media app RedNote tops App Store chart ahead of TikTok ban Associated Press : US TikTok users flock to Chinese app Xiaohongshu in protest with TikTok ban looming Anna Good / The Daily Dot : Chinese people are asking American ‘TikTok refugees’ for homework help on RedNote Kyle Phillippi / VICE : Chinese App RedNote Hits #1 in App Store As US TikTok Ban Nears Kaycee Hill / Tom's Guide : The best TikTok alternatives — where to go if the app gets banned James Hockaday / Yahoo News : What is RedNote? The Chinese app users are downloading before US TikTok ban Mallory Wilson / Washington Times : Trump sings TikTok's praises as ban looms Bloomberg : Risk of TikTok Ban Has Users Rushing to Other Apps From China Rachel Cheung / The Wire China : TikTok Refugees Head for Other Chinese Apps as Ban Looms Chris Hachey / Pocket-lint : TikTok users should move to YouTube Shorts, not Red Note The Boston Globe : TikTok could soon be banned. Here are alternative apps, from Lemon8 to RedNote. Anurag Chawake / The Indian Express : As TikTok ban in US looms, here are 5 alternatives to the popular social media app USA Today : Lawmakers urge Biden to extend Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok ban: ‘Not the answer’ Jonathan Vanian / CNBC : Users worried about TikTok ban appear to be downloading a different Chinese social media app Jessica Gorringe / Trusted Reviews : What is RedNote? The Chinese TikTok alternative app explained Tatum Hunter / Washington Post : TikTok could soon be banned. Here are alternative apps, from Lemon8 to RedNote. Stephen Johnson / Lifehacker : The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: Where Will People Go After TikTok? Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing : Expecting ban, Tik Tok users flee—to a different Chinese video app Viraaj Bhatnagar / Game Rant : A TikTok Clone is Skyrocketing in Popularity Katie Scott / Tech.co : What Is Rednote? Chinese App Sees User Surge as TikTok Ban Looms Near Tim Marcin / Mashable : What is RedNote? The Chinese app, aka Xiaohongshu, TikTokkers are flocking to Priya Pathak / Financial Express : The TikTok saga: What is it, why it is banned in India? Jesse Nussman / WVEC : U.S. TikTok ban | What users can expect and if there is a way around Aaron Brown / GB News : Millions rush to download Chinese social media app REDnote ahead of incoming TikTok ban in USA Muhammad Zulhusni / Tech Wire Asia : RedNote climbs to no. 1 as TikTok faces potential ban Mahmoud Itani / Android Authority : Looking for the next TikTok? Here's the alternative app Americans are installing right now Daily Progress : What is RedNote, the Chinese social media app that US TikTokers are flocking to? Nicholas Gordon / Fortune : What is Xiaohongshu, the Chinese app also known as RedNote that's topping the charts ahead of a possible TikTok ban? Vishakha Saxena / Asia Financial : American ‘TikTok Refugees’ Flock to New Chinese Apps - CNN Mickey Carroll / Sky News : American #TikTokrefugees flood Chinese social media app ahead of ban Times of India : Red Note: The Chinese Instagram app attracting TikTok refugees KrASIA : Xiaohongshu tops Apple's US app store as TikTok ban looms Sebastian Pier / PhoneArena : A new Chinese social media dominates the US App Store. Is the Senate a joke to you? Business Insider : So many Americans flocked to Chinese app RedNote ahead of the TikTok ban that they're helping users learn English Financial Times : US TikTok ‘refugees’ make surprise move to China's ‘RedNote’ Ashima Grover / Hindustan Times : TikTok alternative: What is RedNote? Trending Chinese app ‘Xiaohongshu’ attracting digital migration as ban looms Tom Dunlop / UK Defence Journal : Americans flock to other Chinese apps ahead of TikTok ban Winston Rogers / KEYE : As TikTok faces impending US ban, other apps soar in an attempt to fill its void Ankita Chakravarti / Moneycontrol : Meet the app which may become the ‘new TikTok’ in the US en.people.cn : Chinese RedNote tops US app store as American users worry about potential TikTok ban Jennifer Sensiba / CleanTechnica : RedNote (小.书) Shows The Looming Futility Of Banning Chinese EVs Mudit Dube / NewsBytes : Meet RedNote, the new app gaining popularity amid TikTok ban Jonathan Chadwick / Daily Mail : What is RedNote? Everything you need to know about the TikTok rival - as thousands flock to it amid impending US ban Sinead Butler / indy100 : What is Rednote? Americans join Chinese app ahead of potential TikTok ban David Uzondu / Neowin : Users are flocking to another Chinese social media app as the TikTok ban looms Elizabeta Ranxburgaj / The Sun : What is RedNote? TikTok replacement gaining popularity on App Store Zhu Ying / SHINE : ‘TikTok refugees’ flock to Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu amid ban threat Livemint : TikTok ban: Will you be able to use app? How will it impact users? Who is buying the Chinese app? What we know so far CGTN : ‘TikTok refugees’: Great divide between the public and the government ABC : Social media users turn to Lemon8 and REDnote as US considers TikTok ban Daily Sabah : US ‘TikTok refugees’ rush to alternative Chinese app as ban looms Xinhua : China Focus: Chinese netizens welcome influx of “TikTok refugees” Memeburn : TikTok Ban in the U.S : A Divisive Move in the Digital Era Jen Mills / Metro.co.uk : What is Xiaohongshu? All you need to know about TikTok's rival app that's No.1 on the App store as ban looms Liv Bridge / UNILAD : Why TikTok users are rushing to RedNote ahead of US ban Shuang Jing / TechNode : Xiaohongshu: the new home for “TikTok refugees” Rafly Gilang / MSPoweruser : What is RedNote? TikTok “refugees” swarm the Chinese platform after potential ban Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac : Chinese social networking app tops US App Store ranking amid potential TikTok ban Bluesky: Erica Wilkinson / @everywhereerica : I don't know how many of y'all are watching the migration of American TikTokers to RedNote, but it's the most fascinating thing I've EVER SEEN HAPPEN ONLINE. — 🧵 Elise Thomas / @elisethomas : Hats off to the TikTokers, this is pretty funny. www.cnbc.com/2025/01/13/a... Dillon TenBrink / @dillten.com : The crossover that is happening right now on Xiaohongshu is unlike anything I've ever seen. It validates a true belief though: regardless of nations, regimes, or borders, we are all just people wanting to bond over experiences... and pictures of our cats. Lots of cats. [embedded post] Blake E. Reid / @chup.blakereid.org : Re: TikTok alternatives, no commentary on the specific ones being discussed in the news but worth remembering that the “TikTok ban” bill also (a) covers other applications operated by ByteDance or TikTok *and* (b) allows the President to designate other applications that meet the various thresholds. Alex Cranz / @cranz : the thing that stuck out to me is migrations to Lemon8 or RedNote are kind of goofy because Congress can just ban them too. people are JUST that desperate. [embedded post] @revan.social : Also WeChat is probably technically in violation of it but it's only popular with the Chinese diaspora so no one cares @revan.social : So the funny thing is that if Rednote crosses 1 million US users it also will have to divest or be banned under the TikTok law [image] Louise Matsakis / @lmatsakis : As @zeyiyang.bsky.social reports, Chinese Xiaohongshu users are engaging in a kind of cultural engage with their new English-speaking counterparts. You have to imagine this is exactly the opposite of what lawmakers wanted when they tried to ban TikTok lol [image] Evy Kwong / @evystadium : america not being able to make this tiktok ban make sense literally got xiaohongshu (little red book) at the top download spot today on the app store iddjsisjshdhdjdjdjbsbsh Cynthia Brumfield / @metacurity.com : Meet the new Chinese app espionage threats, same as the old Chinese app espionage threats. [embedded post] Zeyi Yang / @zeyiyang : I know I will write about Xiaohongshu/RedNote one day, but I didn't expect it to be today: — It's #1 downloaded app in the US today. Why? Because the TikTok ban is pushing users to join another Chinese app out of spite. Also, they call themselves the “TikTok refugees.” — www.wired.com/story/red-no... Alejandra Caraballo / @esqueer.net : The #1 app on the app store is Xiaohongshu (Rednote), a China based tiktok-like app social media app. — It's hilarious because the reason cited for banning Tiktok was Chinese control and Tiktok users are flocking to an explicitly Chinese app. — Unintended consequences. [image] Rachel Gilmore / @rachelgilmore : The proof congress didn't actually accomplish anything they claimed to care about lies in the fact that a wholly Chinese-owned app, RedNote, is the #1 social networking app in the App Store thanks to defecting TikTok users: [embedded post] Threads: Jon Gales / @tookthescenicroute : Americans are very stubborn and do not like being told they can't use a CCP controlled social media app. Look at the current number one free app on the iOS App Store in the US. Getting that CCP propaganda straight from the tap! Parker Thompson / @parkert : This is hilarious because activists are so concerned about China having access to user data and users are like, if you ban our China app we'll find another way to give them that data goddammit. We don't even care what the app does. — RE: https://www.threads.net/... X: Abby / @abby4thepeople : Lmao at thousands of people downloading Rednote (the version of tiktok that is actually owned by China) to spite the U.S. government, finding themselves having lovely interactions with the millions of Chinese citizens on the app & inadvertently undoing decades of U.S. propaganda. [image] Morgan Sung / @morgan_sung : xiaohongshu at the top of app downloads today, *and* “tiktok refugees” are already finding a home among the chinese luigi mangione stans. they're joking about sending their data directly to xi jinping in a red envelope. you know the american tech lobby is pissed right now lol [image] Ivonne Aldaz / @ivonnealdazz : TikTok users are quickly deleting Meta apps and migrating to Red Note, a Chinese TikTok alternative, as a big F U to the government. It's already #2 on the “top free social apps.” This is craaaaaazy. [image] Tony Aubé / @aubetony : Everyone on TikTok is transitioning to RedNote, the Chinese TikTok. RedNote is going to be the number one app downloaded worldwide this week. The irony of banning a Singaporean app out of China concerns, only to have everyone start using a Chinese app. [video] @davenewworld_2 : The US is banning TikTok, so tens of millions of people migrated to a Chinese-owned platform. It's currently charting at #1. Americans are literally learning Mandarin and voluntarily giving all their data directly to China. [image] Jane Manchun Wong / @wongmjane : Americans bravely escaping the tyranny looming over TikTok sheltering in Xiaohongshu while sipping their $12 soy latte from DoorDash in their Bushwick condo, crowning themselves “TikTok refugees” as they shrug off the news feeds about the actual refugees from war-torn countries Krystal Hu / @readkrystalhu : wow the energy on Xiaohongshu (Rednote) where TikTokers flow to. So many new English postings w/ US IP addresses (Chinese laws require online postings to show IP) A Rednote user posted tutorials on how to use the app—it went viral on TikTok & he was mistakenly IDed as the CEO [image] Liz / @iamlizendary : red note is the new tiktok, this is actually any american's chance to be an influencer, & i'm seeing american tiktok refugees learn mandarin to understand the jokes 😄 Justine Moore / @venturetwins : Why are people going to Xiaohongshu (RedNote) - which is largely in Mandarin - instead of U.S. alternatives like Reels and Shorts? TikTok is flooded with videos about it. To summarize the most common arguments: 1) Reels is “for influencers.” There's less “real” content from everyday people sharing their struggles / funny stories. Many don't want their IG (with their IRL friends & family) linked to making and following this content... Molson / @molson_hart : If you had told people in 2015 that Americans in 2025 would be migrating to Chinese language apps because the U.S. govt was banned their preferred social media platforms, you'd be called insane. Yet that is what is happening. Americans are downloading and using xiaohongshu [video] Gina Darling / @missginadarling : The Chinese people on Xiaohongshu are now asking Americans for help with their English homework LMAOOOO [image] LinkedIn: Joanne C. : The irony is hard to miss. — While the US debates a TikTok ban over fears of data collection by China, American TikTok users are turning to 小 … Forums: r/neoliberal : With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’ - As of Monday, the Number One Most-Downloaded App in Apple's US App Store r/technology : Xiaohongshu, China's answer to Instagram, hits No. 1 on the App Store as TikTok faces US shutdown r/apple : Xiaohongshuv (RedNote), China's answer to Instagram, hits no. 1 on the App Store as TikTok faces US shutdown r/law : With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’ r/politics : With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’ r/technews : With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’ r/asianamerican : Xiaohongshu, China's answer to Instagram, hits no. 1 on the App Store as TikTok faces US shutdown | TechCrunch Schizoidman To / Beehaw : With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’ See also Mediagazer