Chinese social media platform RedNote has experienced a massive influx of American users this week as TikTok faces an impending US ban, forcing the company to rapidly adapt to English-language content moderation challenges.
The app, known as Xiaohongshu in China, saw more than 700,000 new users join in just two days, according to a source close to the company. US downloads surged by over 200% year-on-year this week, data from Sensor Tower shows.
A live chat session titled “TikTok Refugees” attracted more than 50,000 US and Chinese users on Monday, highlighting cultural exchanges and occasional tensions over sensitive topics.
The $17 billion venture capital-backed startup, which operates a single global version of its app unlike most Chinese platforms, has been caught off guard by the surge, sources said. The company is now rushing to implement English-language moderation and translation tools.
ByteDance-owned Lemon8, currently the second-most popular free app on Apple’s App Store, has seen a similar uptick, with downloads increasing 190% in December to 3.4 million.
The migration comes ahead of a 19 January deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban. TikTok currently serves approximately 170 million American users, about half the country’s population.
Some Chinese companies associated with RedNote saw their share prices surge, with Hangzhou Onechance Tech Corp hitting its daily limit with a 20% increase on Tuesday.
Content creators cite the platform’s community-building potential as a key draw, with some viewing the move as a response to perceived US government overreach into privacy concerns.
(with information from The Guardian)
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