What kind of app is the Chinese SNS 'RedNote' that is overflowing with TikTok refugees?
In the United States, the TikTok ban law has made
Little Red Book - A guide to your life
https://www.xiaohongshu.com/
Charlwin Mao, the RedNote founder welcoming 'TikTok refugees'
https://www.ft.com/content/1adcaa42-b613-4909-b390-c767a064d420
Chinese rival app Xiaohongshu is overwhelmed by 'TikTok refugees' in US | TikTok | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/18/chinese-rival-app-xiaohongshu-is-overwhelmed-by-tiktok-refugees-in-us
ByteDance, which operates TikTok, offers a similar service in China under the name Douyin. However, Douyin is only distributed in the Chinese app store, and a Chinese phone number is required to create an account. On the other hand, RedNote is distributed on the App Store and Google Play , and can be downloaded anywhere in the world, including Japan. In addition, since a Chinese phone number is not required to create an account, it is attracting attention as a replacement for TikTok.
The iOS version of Xiaohongshu's home screen looks like this. The home screen displays content based on the user's history, location information, favorite categories, etc.
The content search screen looks like this. At the top are phrases such as 'TikTok refugees,' 'Chinese language lessons for TikTok refugees,' and 'latest information on TikTok.'
When I typed 'TikTok' into the search field, I got over 790,000 hits related to the word 'tiktokrefugee.'
The search results for 'tiktokrefugee' look like this. There are contents introducing how to use RedNote and its unique culture.
The content is video and image. Videos are displayed in a TikTok-like UI optimized for the portrait screen of a smartphone, as shown below. The operation is also similar to TikTok, and related videos are displayed one after another when you swipe vertically.
Images are displayed in a similar layout to Instagram, with the image displayed at the top and the description at the bottom. In addition, it is possible to include multiple images in one post, and you can switch between displayed images by swiping horizontally.
According to the economic magazine Financial Times, Xiaohongshu does not have an official English name, and 'RedNote' is merely a nickname. Also, since Mao Zedong's Quotations are called 'Little Red Book' in English-speaking countries, some people suspect that Xiaohongshu is related to Mao Zedong Thought, but in fact the name comes from the fact that red was included in the school colors of Stanford University, where founder Charles Mao attended, and in the corporate colors of Bain Capital, where he previously worked.
The number of American users of Xiaohongshu was about 300,000 in the second week of January 2025, but it has increased to about 3.4 million by January 13, 2025. Xiaohongshu is currently recruiting moderators who can speak English to accommodate the rapid increase in American users. It has also been reported that Chinese authorities have requested Xiaohongshu to 'prevent Chinese people from viewing posts by Americans.'
Eric Liu, a former moderator of the Chinese social networking site Weibo, told the foreign media The Guardian that 'Chinese moderators monitor content in line with 'Chinese political correctness'. For this reason, it is difficult to monitor English content.' 'Moderation of English content on Xiaohongshu will prioritize following the wishes of the authorities, and will be rough and indiscriminate.' It has also been pointed out that if the number of users of Xiaohongshu increases, it may become subject to the TikTok ban law and be subject to similar regulations to TikTok.
Experts say TikTok refugees may move to Chinese SNS 'Little Red Book' and be subject to similar restrictions as TikTok - GIGAZINE
In the United States, new downloads and updates of the TikTok app remain unavailable, but content can still be viewed on devices that already have the app installed. It has also become clear that President-elect Donald Trump is working to prevent TikTok from being shut down.
TikTok, banned in the US, to be restored by President-elect Trump - GIGAZINE
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in Mobile, Software, Web Service, Posted by log1o_hf