Taipei, Taiwan – As a TikTok ban looms in the United States, young Americans are flocking to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu as “TikTok refugees” looking for a similar experience.
The app has risen to the top spot in the U.S. iOS and Google Play stores in recent days as users prepare for TikTok to be banned over national security concerns starting Sunday, unless the Chinese parent company ByteDance does not cede its ownership.
Chinese lifestyle app Lemon8, which is also owned by ByteDance, ranked as the second most downloaded app.
Xiaohongshu, which has been described as China’s answer to Instagram, allows users to post photos, videos and text and is known for its heavily female user base.
Although it has around 300 million monthly active users, Xiaohongshu’s reach is lower than other popular apps in China, such as Sina Weibo and WeChat, which claims more than 1.2 billion users.
An influx of new users, some of whom describe themselves as “TikTok refugees,” is now flooding the app’s “Discover” page with videos seeking advice on how to use “RedNote,” the app’s new moniker in the United States.
“Hello. I don’t know what’s going on anymore. The Americans are coming here. So sorry if you hate us. I promise we’ll do our best,” a user calling herself “Star404” said in a short video posted Tuesday .
“Don’t even worry, we’re going to do a really good job.” It’s so much better than TikTok. But not Meta. Instagram Reels, I can kind of dig. Short Facebook and YouTube, no plan. That never happens,” she said.
The irony of seeing many users switching from one Chinese app to another has not been lost on observers like Ryan Broderick, the author of Garbage Day, a newsletter that covers the Internet.
“It’s really funny that American teenagers are protesting the impending TikTok ban using an app that is much more culturally Chinese,” Broderick told Al Jazeera.
“At the moment, RedNote doesn’t seem to silo Chinese content or require users to have a Chinese phone number, so it’s turned into a kind of fun cultural chaos on the app, an experience that has never really happened on TikTok,” he says.
“Star404’s” post garnered more than 4,000 comments in 24 hours, mostly from Chinese users welcoming him to the platform or joking about language issues.
Another user, “Fern,” expressed gratitude for the flood of Chinese followers who came to her after joining the platform.
“We need to talk about you blowing up my video about switching to Rednote to 50,000 new subscribers in less than 24 hours. You guys are crazy, she said.
“But thank you so much for all your support, I really appreciate it.”
While fun for many Chinese Xiaohongshu users, the increase in American users would have put the app’s owner in a difficult situation.
Chinese media outlet PConline reported Tuesday that Xiaohongshu employees were instructed to “not discuss, promote, or share” information regarding their new U.S. user base, citing sources within the company.
“This wave of trafficking has become the sword of Damocles hanging over Xiaohongshu’s head. In fact, for Xiaohongshu, who inexplicably received this traffic, the risks far outweigh the opportunities,” the report said.
These potential risks include regulatory complications.
Chinese social media platforms typically require users to register with a Chinese phone number, while content is subject to government censorship.
For this reason, Chinese technology companies often create domestic and foreign versions of their apps, said Yiwen Lu, a researcher at ChinaTalk, a newsletter and podcast focused on Chinese technology.
TikTok is an international version of Douyin, while Lemon8 was specially designed by ByteDance for the overseas market.
For now, Chinese and American users see the same content on Xiaohongshu.
However, some users reminded their American counterparts that the app comes with its own rules.
“Friendly reminder: On Chinese social media platforms, please do not mention sensitive topics such as politics, religion and drugs!!! Please adhere to the one-China policy and reject pornography, gambling and drugs,” one user wrote under Star404’s post.
“[You] we can say everything here, except the story [of China] from 1949 to 2025,” another user said.
ChinaTalk’s Lu said US users will struggle to replicate their TikTok experience on the app, especially when it comes to monetizing content.
“Monetization models vary widely – XHS positions itself as a shopping platform, with most creators earning revenue through paid partnerships. This difference makes it difficult for creators to fully transition their work and revenue streams to XHS in the short term,” Lu told Al Jazeera.
Livestream shopping, a hugely popular form of e-commerce in China, has taken off in Xiahongshu in recent months.
In the United States, many TikTok users still shop via links to Amazon or the shopping platform LTK, short for “Like to Know”.
Both Lu and Broderick expressed doubts about the sustainability of the influx of American users due to differences between platforms and the fact that many users joined as an act of protest.
Still, the migration to Xiaohongshu should serve as a warning to the U.S. government and big tech companies, Broderick said.
“It’s a fun way to make American politicians understand that Chinese apps are coming to the United States whether they like it or not,” he said.
“And, similarly, it’s a good way to let Silicon Valley know that their products are stagnating and that no federal ban will get young people excited about Meta products again.”
