Chinese social media app RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, has risen to the top spot as the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store in the US. Users of the platform can publish photos, short videos and text messages, which are posted in several feeds. RedNote’s popularity in the US comes as a ban on the use of TikTok in the country could come into force in just a few days.
Image source: App Store
Currently, in RedNote, publications in English are increasingly found among posts in Chinese. Many American users in videos published on the platform call themselves “TikTok refugees,” while others write about their desire to find a new community due to a potential ban on the popular short video service in the United States. Some also try to interact with Chinese users by asking them about various things, such as what memes are popular in the Middle Kingdom.
According to Bloomberg, the RedNote platform began operating in 2013 and was focused on online commerce. Currently, the service is used monthly by more than 300 million people, and the company’s profits last year exceeded $1 billion.
Let us recall that last week the US Supreme Court continued to consider the issue of a possible ban on TikTok or forcing the owner of the service, ByteDance, to sell an American business. The court is due to make a final decision on January 19. Despite the fact that Americans are now actively switching to RedNote, if banned, not only TikTok, but also other social platforms owned by Chinese companies, including RedNote and WeChat, could be blocked.