Summary
- TikTok's potentially imminent US ban has led to a huge spike in popularity for Chinese social media app Rednote as a possible replacement.
- Rednote features an amalgamation of elements from Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok, and is valued at $17 billion with backing from Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and Tencent.
- Former TikTok content creators and users are joining Rednote en masse, with it currently at the top of the US App Store charts.
A new social media app is seeing a massive popularity boost as content creators prepare for the possibly imminent shutdown of TikTok in the US. After facing legal troubles all throughout 2024, TikTok might just be on its way out and replaced by another Chinese social media app dubbed Rednote.
TikTok’s future in the US has been uncertain for months. In March 2024, a TikTok ban bill was passed by the House of Representatives, and the short-form video app was then sued by the Department of Justice and 13 different states in October 2024. The reason behind the ban is to curtail the potential national security risks imposed by TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, TikTok will be removed from Apple and Google app stores starting January 19, 2025, with the company itself indicating recently that it is prepared to shut down operations.
TikTok Is Being Sued by Multiple US States
TikTok is being sued by over a dozen U.S. State district attorneys, who allege that the social media platform is harming children.
The looming possibility of TikTok's disappearance has left US content creators and users scrambling for alternatives, and Chinese social media app Rednote has emerged as the front-runner. Known as Xiaohongshu (or XHS) in China, Rednote is considered by many as a combination of Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. Rednote was founded in 2013, where it initially operated as a platform for product reviews and retail experiences before evolving into a hub for Chinese influencers in beauty and health. The app is especially popular among women, who apparently make up over 70% of its user base. Rednote is valued at $17 billion as of July 2024, with financial backing from Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba.
Chinese Social Media App Rednote May Be First in Line for TikTok's Throne
Thanks to Rednote's layout featuring similar elements as TikTok and Pinterest, the app has surged to the top of the US App Store charts and overtaken other popular apps like Lemon8, ChatGPT, and Threads. As of January 13, Rednote is the most downloaded app in the US, with TikTok creators flocking to the social media platform to establish a presence. Videos about Rednote's rise to fame are already going viral on TikTok and other social media hotspots like Twitter and Instagram. Rather amusingly, Chinese users on Rednote are acknowledging the sudden influx of American users and greeting them as well.
It's quite ironic that with TikTok on the verge of vanishing from the US due to its Chinese ownership, its likeliest replacement is also a Chinese app. It remains to be seen if Rednote can sustain its newfound popularity over the next few days, after which TikTok's fate in the US will be clear. Should TikTok actually be phased out of US App Stores, Rednote may see an even higher intake of new users.