TikTok Users Transition to China’s RedNote Platform

This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.

More than half a million users have piled onto the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, days ahead of a looming ban on TikTok in the United States, according to data from app stores and social media videos.

Styling themselves “TikTok refugees,” many young Americans, seeking an alternative to TikTok, are flocking to join RedNote’s 300 million existing users — who are mostly in China — taking what they see as refuge from the ban, which could be enforced on Jan. 19.

On Wednesday, Xiaohongshu, which literally means “Little Red Book” — a reference to the famous book of quotes from Mao Zedong, the founder of communist China — topped the list of most popular free downloads on the Apple Store and the Google Play store for Android users in the United States.

RedNote allows users to share videos, photos and text posts, along with various shopping features. Known as China’s version of Instagram, it is particularly popular for sharing travel, makeup and fashion tips.

It is owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology.

More than 700,000 new users joined the app, a person close to the company told Reuters, although the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Estimates from app data research firm Sensor Tower showed that U.S. downloads of RedNote up by more than 200% year-on-year this week and 194% higher than the previous week, Reuters reported.

The apparent exodus comes ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline for the banning of TikTok in the United States under a bipartisan bill, should its Chinese parent ByteDance not have sold it by that time.

In April, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the bill amid concerns that China’s government was using TikTok both to collect sensitive data about Americans and feed them propaganda.

Lawyers for Chinese-owned TikTok asked the Supreme Court on Jan. 10 to postpone implementation of the ban, which takes effect the day before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Navigating in Chinese

Since RedNote uses Mandarin Chinese, new users were using translation tools to navigate the site. Some were confused; others were gleeful.

“I have no idea what I’m doing here,” commented Elle Belle from the United States under the video that cited a desire to avoid platforms run by Zuckerman. “I can’t even read the RULES.”

“I’m literally emotional right now bc we are so freaking awesome,” wrote @Unty Tan.

Some hoped to relocate entire communities that existed on TikTok, while others said the move is a form of protest, or a way to avoid using platforms owned by Meta.

“I would rather stare at a language I can’t understand than to ever use a social media [platform] that Mark Zuckerberg owns,” says one former TikToker in a video posted to the platform on Jan. 13, referring to the Facebook CEO.

The aversion to Meta was apparently linked to reports that the company had paid online activists to boost messages calling TikTok a threat to American children.

‘Give me all your datas’

But the surge of new RedNote users from the United States prompted a series of jokes and memes by long-term Chinese Xiaohongshu users, riffing on fears of spying and data collection.

“Welcome to spy station, give me all your datas,” quipped user @BubbleTea from Guangdong on Jan. 14, in a comment reposted to social media app Bluesky, accompanied by a cat photo. “American datas!” replied another user, also with a cat photo.

Meanwhile, Xiaohongshu user BigTooth donned a cowboy hat to address new arrivals in a broad Texas accent, teaching them how to comment on Chinese posts.

“You came over to this app, wanting to learn some Chinese, but you ain’t even got a Chinese keyboard on your phone,” he says. “But it’s OK. Don’t worry about that.”

“I’m gonna teach you three Chinese expressions, and you can even type them out with your English keyboard,” he adds, suggesting “6,” “66” or “666” to indicate approval, XSWL, “Dying laughing,” and NB, a somewhat rude expression that nonetheless means something is admirable.

American users started putting the tips into practice in comments.

“66 (am I doing it right?),” commented U.S.-based RedNote user @KotaGibbs, gaining more than 1,000 likes. “You’re missing one 6, should be 666,” answered user @Cold from Canada.

Comparing notes

Many users compared notes about each other’s countries, according to screenshots of conversations posted to Bluesky on Jan. 15.

“Can you guys tell us what’s wrong with our country, looking at it from your perspective outside of America?” asks one user.

“Just wondering if it is true that Americans need to have 2-3 jobs to survive?” @momo_yu wanted to know.

“yes, the economy is not great so people work multiple jobs just to live,” user @ally replied from the United States.

“People have guns and shoot children for no reason,” answered @thisisjiaming from Beijing. “Sadly this is true,” commented @kimkimchii from the United States.

“You people still believe election can improve your life,” wrote @Vivianfunny from Hong Kong, where only “patriots” approved by Beijing are allowed to run in elections.

Some American users embraced the new experience.

“I’m having a lot of fun over there, we share a sense of humor and beefs with our governments,” Bluesky user ‪DarbyMae Shaw‬ ‪commented on Jan. 15.

But others weren’t too sure.

“ less funny is that it censors posts from people of color and the lgbt community,” user @kluggin responded, in a reference to the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s far-reaching social media censorship.

Can you add a translation feature?

According to a Jan. 13 article on the website Advocate.com, one “TikTok refugee” reported being banned for posting content about transgender people.

While some memes and videos crossed the language barrier by using subtitles, other users were crying out for automatic translation, according to a comment on the Apple Store.

“Please please please!!! I love this app so so so much but I only speak english,” said a review by Sour_emy. “A lot of people in the us are moving to this app … so I was hoping there could be a translation feature added for things like comments and descriptions!!”

“It would bring a lot of new people coming from tiktok,” the review said.

Users seemed relatively unworried by the security concerns that also surround Xiaohongshu.

The government of democratic Taiwan banned its officials from using Xiaohongshu, Douyin and TikTok amid concerns that the Chinese-owned platforms could compromise the island’s security.

Meanwhile, a Chinese journalist now living in the United States who declined to be named for fear of reprisals said the exodus seemed ironic to him.

“It’s hilarious that they’re escaping from an American prison run by the Chinese to a Chinese prison that’s also run by the Chinese,” the journalist said.