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Chinese social media app RedNote has skyrocketed to the top Apple app store, highlighting concerns that TikTok will soon be effectively banned in the US
RedNote, or Xiaohongshu as it’s called in China, is the #1 free app on the an apple app store as of Monday, followed by TikTok’s photo-sharing app Lemon8 and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Many The creators of TikTok are in a hurry to find alternatives where they can continue to post videos while waiting to see what happens with TikTok, which faces a potential ban on January 19 in the US. Last week, the Supreme Court held oral arguments on the April law that creates the basis for the ban, and it seemed more is sympathetic to the US government’s arguments that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.
Lawyers representing TikTok and creators argued that the law violates protecting the free speech of millions of US users.
If the Supreme Court upholds the law, third-party service providers such as an apple and Google will be punished for supporting TikTok, effectively banning the app in the US. It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, has decided to enforce the law.
Some TikTok creators are putting contingency plans into action by switching to RedNote.
One content creator under the nickname allieusyaps said in a post On Monday, while “it’s OK” that TikTok may be banned in the US, he and other TikTok creators “aren’t going back to Instagram and Facebook” because they joined RedNote.
“Look, I might not have work next week, but we’re about to learn Mandarin!” – wrote the user.
Another TikTok creator named Kristen Walmsley placed a short video that teaches people how to set up and checkout their RedNote accounts.
“This app is really cute, and so far it’s been a lot of fun,” Walmsley said.
Based in Shanghai, RedNote was founded in 2013 and continues to challenge Alibaba and Douyin, China’s e-commerce and social media version of ByteDance’s TikTok. As of July 2024, it had about 300 million monthly active users, according to the report writes the South China Morning Post.
According to PitchBook, RedNote was valued at $17 billion after raising funding in July from investors such as Boyu Capital and HongShan Capital Group, the former Chinese investment arm of Sequoia Capital. The company has raised more than $900 million in total funding and has more than 2,000 employees, according to PitchBook.
Representatives for RedNote and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Look: TikTok is seen as “China’s eyes and ears in Western society”.
