China's TikTok alternative tops app charts ahead of ban

TikTok users are resisting the upcoming ban on TikTok that takes effect on Sunday by downloading a Chinese app called RedNote, which some users are calling “China's TikTok.”

TikTok's ban stems in large part from national security concerns related to TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance, and many users are turning to RedNote as a clear form of protest.

RedNote, known as Little Red Book in China, is a social media platform that includes images, short videos, community building tools, shopping, and more. It's not a one-to-one TikTok clone, nor is it owned by ByteDance. It is a company under Shanghai Xingyin Information Technology Co., Ltd.

U.S. TikTok users worried about losing the platform are advising their followers to join them in downloading RedNote to send messages to the U.S. government and social media company Meta. Meta will gain new users for its TikTok-like product Reels if the ban goes into effect. Meta reportedly used Republican lobbying firms in 2022 to spread ill will against TikTok.

Some people said that after the ban was implemented, they were preparing for a week-long Meta blackout, which meant that they would not use any Meta applications, such as Instagram and Facebook.

On Monday, RedNote became the most downloaded free app on the Apple App Store, followed by TikTok sister app Lemon8.

Users said they planned to use RedNote after TikTok went offline on Sunday as they waited to see whether the U.S. Supreme Court would grant TikTok a last-minute reprieve. Here's everything you need to know about RedNote.

What is RedNote and what do people say about it?

RedNote is a Chinese social media app based in Shanghai that offers everything Americans are used to in social media apps. Users can share videos, post images, post text and access a range of shopping features.

The interface differs from TikTok in that videos don't start playing immediately when the app is opened and users must log in to start using it. However, it is similar in that it offers content it thinks every user will enjoy.

Although RedNote is already available in English, some users said Monday that as its popularity grows, it appears to be better suited to the U.S. user base.

Several posts on RedNote on Monday welcomed “TikTok refugees” to the platform.

Other users joked about meeting TikTok's designated “Chinese spies” on RedNote, with some Chinese users chiming in to say they were happy to find their American counterparts.

How do memes attract people to the platform?

On TikTok, videos of people jokingly bidding farewell to their “Chinese spies,” some in Mandarin, have racked up millions of views and likes. The memes reflect some users' dissatisfaction with the U.S. government's ban on TikTok in the name of safety (even though some lawmakers are using TikTok themselves), as well as with the continued politicization of other social media companies like X. and Yuan.

The outrage was on full display on TikTok when some people explained why they downloaded RedNote.

“I'm going to download it to my phone. I'm going to let it track other apps. I'm going to give it permission to see my location and all my contacts, and then I'm going to let it sit there,” one TikTok user Post said. “I'm going to keep it as a little window through which my personal Chinese spies can see everything I'm doing.”

Others took a more somber tone when discussing their decision to download RedNote, suggesting the U.S. government's intent to harm its people, many of whom have large followings and full-time careers on TikTok.

“I believe our government loves to see us unhappy, see us struggle, see us poor and thrive,” another TikTok user said. “See another Chinese app owned and hosted in China It’s great that the app RedNote is the number one app in the App Store today.”

When was RedNote released?

RedNote was launched in 2013. While it has grown steadily over the years, its biggest boom came during the pandemic, when its popularity grew.

How many users does the application have?

According to TechCrunch, RedNote has 300 million monthly active users. TechCrunch reports that women make up 79% of the user base.

Will RedNote be blocked like TikTok?

As with TikTok and Lemon8, the short answer seems to be yes – however, it's not as simple as with TikTok and Lemon8, whose parent company ByteDance is mentioned in the law.

Experts note that the law gives the executive branch the power to deem a country a “foreign adversary” and, in doing so, have the option to ban apps from that country. In this case, China is already considered a “foreign adversary” in the context of the TikTok ban, so the executive branch could theoretically decide that other apps from China must be banned.

But lawmakers who drafted the bill told The Washington Post that while the bill could be used on foreign-controlled social media platforms, the core intent of the ban is to target TikTok and its sister apps.