With a possible TikTok ban looming in the US, users have started migrating to a Chinese app called RedNote, which has quickly become the most downloaded app on Apple’s US App Store.
RedNote, popular among young people in China, Taiwan, and other Mandarin-speaking regions, boasts 300 million monthly users.
The app combines features of TikTok and Instagram, catering primarily to young urban women sharing lifestyle tips on topics like fashion and dating.
The migration comes as the US Supreme Court is set to rule on a law requiring TikTok to sell its US operations by January 19 or face a ban. TikTok, which has 170 million US users, argues that a ban would violate free speech protections.
In the meantime, RedNote has embraced its new users, with 63,000 posts tagged “TikTok refugee,” where users share tips for navigating the app and learning basic Chinese phrases.
“To our Chinese hosts, thanks for having us – sorry in advance for the chaos,” a new US user wrote.
But like TikTok, there have also been reports of censorship on RedNote when it comes to criticism of the Chinese government.
The proposed TikTok ban would require app stores to stop offering the app, which could kill it over time
In Taiwan, public officials are restricted from using RedNote due to alleged security risks of Chinese software.
As more US users joined RedNote, some Chinese users have also jokingly referred to themselves as “Chinese spies”, a reference to US officials’ concerns that TikTok could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.
RedNote’s Chinese name, Xiaohongshu, translates to Little Red Book, but the app says it is not a reference to Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s book of quotations with the same name.
But security concerns have not deterred users from flocking to RedNote.
While a ban will not make TikTok disappear immediately, it will require app stores to stop offering it – which could kill it over time.
But even if TikTok dodges a ban, it may prove helpless against users moving to alternative platforms.
Some social media users tell the BBC that they find themselves scrolling on RedNote more than TikTok.
“Even if TikTok does stay I will continue to use my platform I’ve created on RedNote,” Tennessee tech worker Sydney Crawley told the BBC.
Ms Crawley said she got over 6,000 followers within 24 hours of creating her RedNote account.
“I will continue to try to build a following there and see what new connections, friendships, or opportunities it brings me.”
Ms Fotheringham, the canteen worker, said RedNote “opened my world up to China and its people”.
“I am now able to see things I never would have seen,” she said. “Regular Chinese people, finding out about their culture, life, school, everything, it has been so much fun.”
The community so far has been “super welcoming”, said Mr Robinson, the designer.
“I love RedNote so far … I just need to learn how to speak Mandarin!”
Sarah Fotheringham, a 37-year-old school canteen worker in Utah, says the move to RedNote is a way to “snub” the government.
“I’m just a simple person living a simple life,” Ms Fotheringham told the BBC in a RedNote message.
“I don’t have anything that China doesn’t, and if they want my data that bad they can have it.”
Marcus Robinson, a fashion designer in Virginia, said he created his RedNote account over the weekend to share his clothing brand and “be ahead of the curve”.
Mr Robinson told the BBC he was was only “slightly hesitant” about accepting the terms and conditions of using the app, which were written in Mandarin.
“I wasn’t able to actually read them so that was a little concerning to me,” he said, “but I took my chance.”
