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Hong Kong (CNN) — As Supreme Court justices ponder the future of TikTok in the United States, a growing number of American social media users have responded by moving to an unlikely alternative: Xiaohongshu, a hugely popular social media app in China.
The app, which means “Little Red Book,” often shortened by US users to RedNote, surged to the top position on Apple’s US App Store on Tuesday.
Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is one of China’s biggest social media platforms with 300 million users, according to research firm Qian Gua. Described as China’s answer to Instagram, the app has become especially popular for sharing tips on travel, makeup and fashion.
But while it has cornered the Chinese market, it hasn’t gained much prominence beyond the Chinese-speaking world. Until now.
Why is Xiaohongshu everywhere?
Xiaohongshu is surging in popularity worldwide in the same week that TikTok could potentially go offline in the US.
US mobile downloads of Xiaohongshu almost tripled over the past week, compared to the seven days before, San Francisco-based market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told CNN on Tuesday.
Within the span of two days, more than 700,000 new users have joined Xiaohongshu, Reuters reported, citing a person close to the company. CNN has reached out to Xiaohongshu for comment.
As of Wednesday, the hashtag “TikTok refugee” had garnered nearly 250 million views and over 5.5 million comments. Many of the American users they had joined as an act of defiance against Washington’s move on TikTok.
“Our government is out of their minds if they think we’re going to stand for this TikTok ban,” a user called Heather Roberts said in a video message on Xiaohongshu, which has garnered more than 45,000 likes. “We’re just going to a new Chinese app, and here we are.”
“This is so much better than TikTok,” another self-proclaimed “refugee” said in video message. “Americans are coming here … so sorry you’ll hate us, but I promise we’ll do our best.”
How are Chinese and American users interacting on the platform?
The sudden migration of US users to Xiaohongshu has created an unlikely platform for Chinese and American users to interact with each other.
“I just want to reassure you that we want to try to find a way to communicate with you, be respectful to your community,” one user said. “We want to be good guests.”
Some American newbies have appealed to their compatriots to respect Chinese users on the platform.
“Just a quick message for the American users coming over here: Please don’t bring politics here. We want to have fun here, we want to enjoy here, and we want to show respect to the people who are already here,” one user posted.
Most Chinese users have warmly welcomed the newcomers, with some even sharing video tutorials to help the new “TikTok refugees” navigate the app.
“This could be a historic moment,” one Chinese user commented. “It feels like so much has changed in an instant. Ordinary people from our two countries have never really connected before … I hope everyone can take this brief chance to engage in meaningful exchanges of ideas.”
One person even seized the opportunity presented by the influx of American netizens to ask for help with their English homework in a viral post that garnered over 2,000 likes.
Ivy Yang, a China tech analyst and founder of consulting firm Wavelet Strategy, said the new American users had “unexpectedly created one of the most organic forms of cultural exchange between the US and China we’ve seen in recent years.”
“Users are finding creative ways to transcend language barriers, navigate cultural differences, and co-exist in fascinating ways,” she added. “This community building happening in real time could have lasting impact, and I’m cautiously optimistic.”
For a brief period in 2021, similar exchanges were also seen on the social media app Clubhouse, where Chinese and American users engaged in uncensored dialogue on sensitive topics in virtual chat rooms, before Chinese censors intervened to block the app.
As of Tuesday, only a “very small proportion” of X posts about Xiaohongshu touched on sensitive topics in China, where online discourse is carefully censored, according to media intelligence firm PeakMetrics.
How is Xiaohongshu different from TikTok?
Well, for starters, Xiaohongshu wasn’t designed for English speakers, while TikTok isn’t in China at all.
Xiaohongshu’s name could be seen as a tongue-in-cheek reference to a red-covered book of quotations from the founding father of Communist China, Mao Zedong.
One of the app’s key features is its content algorithm, which focuses on user interests rather than the people they follow. Some users say this fosters more original content and reduces the dominance of powerful influencers.
The company behind the app, Xingin Information Technology, was founded by Charlwin Mao and Miranda Qu and is headquartered in Shanghai.
TikTok is owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance and was tailored for a global audience. TikTok is also not accessible in China, where a sister app, Douyin, serves the domestic market.
Are US TikTok users moving to apps other than Xiaohongshu?
Lemon8, a lifestyle community app also owned by ByteDance, is currently ranked as the second-most downloaded app on Apple’s US store.
Lemon8 has a similar video sharing function as TikTok. Modeled after Instagram and Pinterest, it was first launched in the US in 2023.
It’s unclear whether the looming ban on TikTok might also jeopardize Lemon8’s operations in the US.
The US law passed by Congress last year states that the divest-or-ban requirement will generally apply to all apps that are owned or operated by ByteDance, meaning that although Lemon8 was not explicitly mentioned in the statute, the ban may also extend to the platform.
CNN has reached out to ByteDance for comment.
— CNN’s Simone McCarthy and Yuri Liu contributed reporting.
The-CNN-Wire
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