What Is RedNote? TikTokers Are Flocking to This Instagram-Like App as a Ban Looms

A RedNote rises…clout has been spilled this night.

But you might be wondering, what is RedNote? As TikTok, a.k.a. the clock app, is on the verge of a US ban (which would make it impossible to download/update or access from a browser, but the app wouldn’t, like, self-delete from your phone, BTW), TikTok users are flocking to RedNote as an alternative, and using the hashtag #TikTokRefugees—here’s why.

What is RedNote?RedNote is a Chinese app called Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book,” which is why Americans have taken to calling it RedNote, per CNN. As of January 14 it is the number one free app on iPhone, and the symbol is a red square with Chinese symbols. (Is the name a reference to Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong’s book of quotations? The app itself says no.)

It was founded in 2013 as China’s version of Instagram, per the outlet, and focuses on lifestyle content. According to CNET, it’s more on the Pinterest side of things than the sometimes
YouTube-y storytelling vibe of TikTok, if that makes sense.

Why are TikTokers using RedNote?To put it simply: spite. It’s not that the app’s interface or features are super similar to TikTok in particular, but the migration from TikTok to another app from China seems to be a pointed effort to show the American government that it cannot stop Americans from using Chinese-owned platforms. The fact that a Chinese company owns TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is at the heart of the legal case against it, though data privacy is…not of great concern to the American TikTok user base, it seems.

So what’s happening over there on the new app?Apparently, cross-cultural exchange! Interestingly, though TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, you can’t use it in China, and it was built for a global audience. But RedNote is filled with Chinese users, and as more Americans join the platform, the two communities are encountering each other in a novel way. Per CNN, some longtime RedNote users are even helping Americans navigate the platform by explaining in English how it works, while some Americans are urging their fellows to, basically, not muck it up with our politics.

When will TikTok be banned?Either January 19 (a day before Trump’s inauguration)…or later, if Biden asks the court to postpone. Trump has also asked for the ban to be delayed so that his incoming administration can “negotiate a resolution” to save it.

In anticipation, or protest, other Chinese-owned content sharing apps like Lemon8, Clapper, and Flip have also entered the Top 5 on the Free Apps chart for iPhone. Whether TikTok gets banned or not, it’s not a bad idea for influencers to direct their followers to other accounts, and for users to exchange information (safely!) with friends they may have made on the app.