The attempted migration of TikTok users to the Chinese app RedNote is not going too well

American users of TikTok turned their collective noses at the decision of the American government on TikTok from joins though another Chinese social networking app, RedNote (aka Xiaohongshu), sending it to the top of the US App Store on Monday. Unfortunately, many of those who have already made the transition have faced problems with having their accounts suspended and banned for a variety of reasons.

Initially, RedNote seemed like a promising alternative to ByteDance’s TikTok in terms of app functionality, given its focus on short-form video feeds and creator content. However, the app is not a one-to-one replacement for TikTok, as it is also designed to serve as something of a Chinese alternative to Yelp or Google that offers local recommendations and nearby connections in addition to the video feed.

Meanwhile, some users who have joined RedNote – including the famous TikToker, entrepreneur and former Bravo star Bethenny Frankel – were penalized or removed entirely after their initial posts on the Chinese app. According to several reports from TikTok users, these bans are due to a number of reasons.

Some were penalized because their videos featured the TikTok watermark, which apparently can be a problem in RedNote, they said.

Others spoken or shared screenshots of their account suspension notices, which read that they were banned violation of the Xiaohongshu Community Guidelines. Some of these incidents involved verification issues, user reports indicate. When the new tried to verify their accounts using their US-based phone number (an option that was available on the app), they have not received their codes so that they tried again several times. This activity led to account suspensions probably above suspicious bot activity.

Some suspensions have no obvious explanation, however.

For example, a TikTok user states his account has been frozen after his first post, which was a picture of cinnamon rolls. Another one he joked They must have been banned for “pleasing too many thirst traps”. While TechCrunch has not confirmed or independently verified the reason for each reported ban, there are enough complaints from TikTok users to suggest that it is a real problem that people are facing.

Part of the problem is that users join the app but are unable to read the Community Guidelines, which are written in Mandarin. (While there is a way to change the language to English in the RedNote app, it’s hard to know how to find that option as an English speaker, as it requires navigating through the app’s settings).

Many TikTok creators said they are trying appeal their bansbut it is not clear what these efforts will yield.

Meanwhile, every other app that competes with TikTok is make a game for its usersthough more likely creators it will revert to applications managed by Meta and Googlegiven the need to monetize their following at scale.