TikTok users in the US are migrating to a Chinese app called Red Note with the threat of a ban a few days later.
The initiative by users who call themselves “TikTok refugees” made RedNote the most downloaded app on Apple’s US App Store on Monday.
RedNote is a TikTok competitor popular among young people in China, Taiwan and other Mandarin-speaking populations.
It has around 300 million monthly users and looks like a combination of TikTok and Instagram. It allows users, mostly young urban women, to exchange lifestyle tips, from dating to fashion.
Supreme Court justices are set to rule on a law that sets a January 19 deadline for TikTok to either sell its US operations or face a ban in the country.
TikTok has repeatedly said it will not sell its US business, and its lawyers have warned that a ban would violate free speech protections for the platform’s 170 million users in the US.
Meanwhile, RedNote has welcomed its new customers with open arms. There are 63,000 posts titled “TikTok Refugees” where new users are taught how to navigate the app and how to use basic Chinese phrases.
“To our Chinese hosts, thanks for having us – apologies in advance for the chaos,” wrote one new US user.
But like TikTok, RedNote has come under fire for censorship when it comes to criticism of the Chinese government.
In Taiwan, public officials have been barred from using RedNote due to the alleged security risks of the Chinese software.
As more American users joined RedNote, some Chinese users even jokingly referred to themselves as “Chinese spies,” a reference to concerns by U.S. officials about TikTok as a tool for Chinese espionage and political manipulation. can use
RedNote’s Chinese name, Xiaohongshu, translates to Little Red Book, but the app says it’s not a reference to Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong’s book of the same name.
But security concerns haven’t stopped users from flocking to RedNote.
Sarah Fotheringham, a 37-year-old school canteen worker in Utah, says RedNote’s move is a way to “drop” the government.
“I’m just a simple person living a simple life,” Ms Fotheringham told the BBC in a RedNote message.
“I don’t have anything that China doesn’t have, and if they want my data so bad they can take it.”
Marcus Robinson, a fashion designer in Virginia, said he created his RedNote account over the weekend to share his clothing brand and be “ahead of the curve.”
Mr Robinson told the BBC he was “a bit hesitant” about accepting the app’s terms of use, which are in Mandarin. were written.
“I wasn’t able to actually read them so it was a bit about me,” he said, “but I took my chance.”
While the ban won’t make TikTok disappear immediately, it will require app stores to stop offering it — which could kill it over time.
But even if TikTok survives the ban, it could prove helpless against users switching to alternative platforms.
Some social media users tell the BBC they find themselves scrolling through RedNote more than TikTok.
“Even if TikTok survives, I will continue to use my platform that I built on RedNote,” Tennessee tech worker Sidney Crowley told the BBC.
Ms. Crowley said she gained more than 6,000 followers within 24 hours of creating her RedNote account.
“I’ll keep trying to build a following there and see what new connections, friendships, or opportunities it brings me.”
Canteen worker Ms Fotheringham said the Red Note “opened up my world to China and its people”.
“I am now able to see things that I have never seen before,” he said. “It was fun to learn about regular Chinese people, their culture, life, school, everything.”
Designer Mr Robinson said the community had been “super welcoming” so far.
“I love RedNote so far … I just need to learn to speak Mandarin!”