TAIPEI, Taiwan — TikTok users worried about an impending ban are finding solace in a strange place.
Days before a Supreme Court decision that could determine whether the popular short-video app will be shut down starting Sunday, a number of users appear to be turning to an app called RedNote – better known by its Chinese name to its majority Chinese audience. Xiaohongshu.
This is a surprising decision since Xiaohongshu is Chinese-owned and these ties are the reason US lawmakers banned TikTok in the US, citing privacy and national security concerns.
Additionally, Xiaohongshu is dominated by the Chinese language and its content is subject to censorship by Chinese government officials, which is foreign to most U.S. users.
But by embracing a Chinese social media and lifestyle app similar to Instagram, some U.S. TikTok users say they are protesting what they say is an unjustified ban on the ubiquitous app.
“I think America is trying to pressure China to sell it to an American owner. A lot of us just don't want to give in to them,” said Samantha Manassero, a 39-year-old nurse in LA who downloaded Xiaohongshu on Sunday night after seeing content creators on TikTok tout it as a comparable app. “I think some of it is just pettiness in every sense of the word.”
Last year, Congress passed a bill requiring TikTok's owner, Bytedance, to sell the app to a U.S.-licensed owner or face a nationwide ban. The Supreme Court is expected to confirm the legality of the ban as early as Wednesday.
It was unclear whether Xiaohongshu, which launched in 2013, would become a viable alternative to TikTok or whether the recent migration to the Chinese platform represents a significant share of TikTok's 170 million U.S. users.
But a surge in new users made Xiaohongshu the top free download in Apple's App Store this week. Another social media app developed by Bytedance landed at number 2 in the charts: Lemon8. It's unclear whether either app will be subject to the same U.S. government scrutiny as TikTok.
It's also difficult to determine exactly how many US TikTok users have created accounts on Xiaohongshu or how many will remain there. While many Xiaohongshu regulars have welcomed the influx of Americans calling themselves “TikTok refugees,” the app's interface is largely in Chinese, making it difficult to navigate for non-native speakers.
Chinese apps are subject to strict censorship on discussions the Chinese government deems politically sensitive. These topics can range from illegal activities to LGBTQ+ rights to Winnie the Pooh, whose images have been used to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese version of TikTok, called Douyin, has different content restrictions and is only available for mobile download in China. Bytedance has argued that TikTok, which is used by the rest of the world, is a separate entity from Douyin and is not beholden to the Chinese Communist Party.
However, that didn't stop President-elect Donald Trump from proposing a ban on TikTok in 2020 and President Biden from enacting it in 2024.
The legality of such a ban has been questioned on several occasions. Last month, Trump, who has 14.8 million followers on TikTok, filed an about-face and requested the ban be lifted so he can negotiate a deal after he takes office.
With TikTok facing an uncertain future, the newcomers from Xiaohongshu were eager to try out the new app despite its foreign nature.
Manassero, who posts videos about health care and powerlifting to about 7,000 followers on TikTok, said she already has a much larger audience of 26,000 on Instagram. However, she was motivated to create an account on Xiaohongshu in part out of frustration with the U.S. government's determination to ban TikTok.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know what I’m reading, I’m just pushing buttons,” Manassero said in her first video post. The next morning, her account had 5,000 views and 3,500 new followers. As of Tuesday, the “Tiktok Refugee” hashtag had more than 90 million views and 2 million comments.
TikTokers sought out each other with introductions, follow requests, and sharing tips on navigating the app's Chinese features. On Monday, more than 190,000 viewers took part in a live chat called “TikTok Refugees Club,” discussing in English the meaning of a TikTok ban and future plans for social media content. In the comments, users welcomed newcomers and complained that they couldn't understand each other.
“Maybe you can learn to speak Chinese,” one user wrote in English.
“Where is the translator?” another viewer asked in Chinese.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials had discussed the possibility of selling TikTok to a trusted non-Chinese party such as Elon Musk, who already owns the social media platform X. However, analysts said Bytedance was unlikely to agree to sell the underlying algorithm that powers the app, meaning the platform could still look drastically different under new ownership.
Manassero and other TikTokers expressed displeasure at the prospect of migrating to U.S. tech platforms like Instagram or X, which could benefit from an influx of users if TikTok shuts down.
“We don’t want to turn around and make a few billionaires even richer,” she said. “Honestly, I would rather the app be shut down than Elon Musk owning it.”
Although she's still trying to figure out how to use Xiaohongshu and message people, Manassero said she would likely stick with the Chinese lifestyle app regardless of whether the TikTok ban goes into effect.
“The response was so friendly and nice. It’s a good energy,” she said. “It feels like the early TikTok days: a little more organic, so it’s fun.”