According to Reuters, the Chinese app Rednote (Xiaohongshu) gained 700,000 new users in just two days as the deadline for the TikTok sale ban in the U.S. approaches (January 19). Mobile downloads in the U.S. nearly tripled in the past week, and it is the #1 app in the social networking category on the U.S. App Store.
The app, launched in 2013 and with over 300 million users, mostly young people from China, Taiwan, and other Mandarin-speaking regions, combines TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest features. Unlike TikTok, which is available only outside China while its counterpart Douyin operates within China (both owned by ByteDance), Rednote is available in both China and the rest of the world.
It has been around since 2013, has over 300 million users, and its name translated to “Little Red Book,” like the book by the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong.
The app was not prepared for the massive influx of American users and is working to quickly develop translation tools between Chinese and English and tools to monitor English content. By Wednesday, the hashtag “TikTok refugee” had garnered nearly 250 million views and over 5.5 million comments, while a post went viral in which a user from China asked for help with an English assignment.
The app is one of the few places Americans and Chinese can interact online. Over 50,000 people from both countries participated in a live chat titled “TikTok refugees. ” Chinese users “welcomed” the Americans and advised them to avoid political topics while exchanging views on general issues such as food and unemployment.
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