SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Ahead of the expected ban on TikTok in the U.S. this coming Sunday, many of its approximately 170 million American users have been flocking to a new video sharing app called Red Note, or Xiaohongshu.
So, what do you need to know about this app, which as of Thursday is the most popular download in Apple’s app store?
First of all, what is it?
“People say that read note is the Chinese version of TikTok,” said Matt Wren, founder of VRAR. He joined Rob Hart of Audacy station WBBM Newsradio in Chicago this week to discuss Red Note’s expanding popularity. “That’s not the case. TikTok does not operate in China. There is a version, a Chinese version of TikTok called Douyin, which is also owned by ByteDance.”
Wren explained that Red Note is a completely separate app owned by a separate Chinese company.
It’s named after “Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung”
TikTok is facing a ban in the U.S. because of concerns that its parent company, China-based ByteDance, could give the Chinese government information about Americans who use it. However, the move to block it has resulted in users going to another app with roots in China.
“It might as well be a storyline out of ‘The Simpsons’,” said Hart in his interview with Wren.
“Obviously Red Note has some reference to the Red Little Book,” another name for the communist leader’s book, Wren confirmed.
Once inside the app, users will see mostly Chinese hashtags.
According to The New York Times, TikTokers didn’t decide to download another Chinese app accidentally. Instead, the outlet said are trying to “show how little they care about TikTok’s ties to Beijing.”
“It has all played out like a global practical joke on the American government: Threatened with exile from TikTok over concerns of Chinese interference, its users have simply scrolled to a different Chinese app, one whose name evokes the Chinese Communist Party,” the Times reported.
Wren noted that users – some who have made their TikTok platform their source of income – have pointed out hypocrisy in the U.S. reasoning for banning the app.
“What they’re doing is frankly – taking an action of banning it – which is similar to something that the Chinese government would actually do to their own citizens and their own software,” said Wren. “So, there’s some irony there that.”
Red Note users are welcoming “TikTok refugees”
Overall, the vibe for new users on RedNote has been welcoming. They have been posting guides for “TikTok refugees” as well as humorous videos about the app – like this one posted to X.
TIME reported that new users were “being welcomed with Chinese memes, photos of food, pets, street views, and Taylor Swift lyrics,” as well as “English-language tutorials are helping them navigate the Chinese app.”
Additionally, there will be some comforting sights for TikTok users, including accounts for well-known TikTokers. Fans of the softly-spoken from-scratch recipes by Nara Smith can find her there, as well as the cucumber creations of Logan Moffitt. It appears that rapper Cardi B has been on the app for some time already.
Using the app is also very similar to TikTok – some have even called it a “copy and paste” of the popular app.
A Stanford University graduate helped launch Red Note
According to TIME, Red Note was initially prototyped by Stanford University graduate Mao Wenchao and Miranda Qu Fang in October 2013. At the time, it was meant to be a shopping guide for female users. Since then it has evolved into a lifestyle app used by around 300 million people.
TIME also noted that Red Note hasn’t been subject to much censorship since it is largely apolitical compared to other social media apps. Instead it is focused on niche hobbies and things like dining recommendations or advice for getting through the airport.
“I would say it’s actually almost more similar to like Pinterest and Instagram than directly to TikTok,” Wren explained.
However, its apolitical vibe may change with an influx of American users, TIME reported. It said the current migration from TikTok to Red Note “will likely be a unique and short-lived phase,” and that Beijing may be pushed to pay more attention to the app, which has already started to include content about economic struggles, content banned by state media and posts that criticized Chinese officials.
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Still, Wren said it doesn’t seem like the TikTok community is eager to move to other platforms, especially ones owned by Meta.
“Let’s face it, Meta paid for a lot of the lobbying that actually related to the TikTok ban,” he said. “So, you know, some… some of the heavy TikTok users are almost saying we should punish Meta by not using ‘Reels,’” the short-form video feature that has been added to Instagram.
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