Shanghai, China - With likely to be banned in the US on Sunday, thousands of users are flocking to Chinese social media app RedNote in protest. Here's what you need to know.
With a TikTok ban imminent, users are flocking to Chinese short-form video app RedNote in protest. © AFP/Adek BerryIn the days leading up to a proposed US government ban on the social media platform TikTok, American users have turned to another Chinese-owned app, Xiaohongshu - otherwise known as RedNote.
The US passed a law last year forcing the popular video platform's owner ByteDance to either sell it or shut it down by January 19. It has since been challenged in the high court, but.
With that deadline looming, RedNote has been propelled to the top of the US Apple App Store free downloads chart, and #TikTokRefugee has had more than 290 million views as of noon on Wednesday.
RedNote is a short-form video platform similar to TikTok, but curated for a Chinese audience. © Unsplash/Aaron Weiss
RedNote is a short-form video social media app that was launched in Shanghai in 2013 by Charlwin Mao and Miranda Qu. In Chinese, it is called Xiaohongshu, which translates to "Little Red Book."
There is speculation that this name may be a reference to Mao Zedong's book of quotations, which goes by the same name, but this has not been confirmed. The term "RedNote" is not an official name.
In an interview with research agency Shensixing, Xiaohongshu founder Mao gave his own explanation for the app's name, saying that its "Primary color theme is red, so we decided to call it 'Little Red Book'."
The app is popular in China, especially among young women, but with about 300 million monthly active users since 2023, does not have anywhere near the traction and reach of something like Weibo.
What is content like on RedNote?
RedNote was never meant to be used by the US, so does not have the same content moderation and features as TikTok. © Unsplash/Solen Feyissa
Unlike TikTok's sister app Douyin or the microblogging site Weibo, RedNote leans heavily towards apolitical content such as lifestyle, travel, beauty and food topics.
Its Explore page is similar to TikTok's For You page – both curated by an algorithm that suggests content based on user interests and interactions.
It is also an online marketplace similar to TikTok Shop, where users can directly buy items including clothing, make-up, and accessories.
It is seen as relatively less censored than other platforms: users can be found posting LGBTQ+ content and discussing the merits of women remaining single, topics often considered sensitive in China.
Xiaohongshu has also popularized "check-in" tourism, where travelers plan itineraries around scenic or trending spots specifically to take photos for social media.
And similar to Instagram and TikTok, the platform has also become a hub for influencers endorsing sponsored products.
Xiaohongshu was never meant to cater for an American audience and, as a result, is lacking in any quality of life or US-targeted content moderation.
Is RedNote available in English?RedNote doesn't feature an English option yet, as it was never intended to be provided to a US audience. It also has no auto-translate tools.
Additionally, RedNote has no content moderation system or even an algorithm that can be utilized for US users.
As a result, "TikTok nomads" are using an app that's entirely in the Chinese language and curated for Chinese people. The products promoted, for example, mostly only ship inside of China.
While it is considered moderately less censored than other Chinese platforms, it is likely still monitored by Beijing with bans on certain words.
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In public group chats on the platform, new US users have asked for translations of slang terms, as well as keywords to search for content they wanted.
