As TikTok Ban Nears, Peeved Users Flock to Other Chinese Social Media Apps
Some TikTok users aren’t waiting until the upcoming Jan. 19 ban to test out other short-form video sharing apps, but instead of Meta’s social media sites or the Fediverse, they’re swarming to other Chinese-owned mobile software platforms.
Two apps owned by Chinese companies — Xiaohongshu (which translates to “little red book” and has also been called RedNote) and Lemon8, which is owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance — are topping the free app download charts in the US for iPhone and Android users. RedNote is owned by Xingyin Information Technology, a private company based in Shanghai.
As Jen Hamilton, one popular TikTok user, explained in a video, the act of downloading the Chinese apps is a form of protest against the moves to shut down TikTok in the US. “You don’t want the Chinese to have our very sensitive personal data? We will drop it off directly,” Hamilton said. “I do not care.”
Read more: 3 Things You Should Definitely Do Before the TikTok Ban Takes Effect on Jan. 19
RedNote has been likened to a cross between Pinterest and Instagram, focusing on short-form lifestyle content. Lemon8, a sister app to TikTok, also has a Pinterest-like aesthetic but is more focused on videos about lifestyle topics such as food, home and wellness.
Lawmakers have expressed concern for years that TikTok, which has 170 million users in the US, poses a national security threat interwoven with privacy risks. Last year, a newly enacted federal law required that TikTok find a US-based buyer or be shut down, with a deadline of Sunday, Jan. 19. Lawyers representing TIkTok have argued that the matter is a free speech issue. The US Supreme Court is expected within the next few days to rule on whether to uphold that law.
It’s unclear how a TikTok ban, if the law is upheld, might affect access to other apps owned by Chinese companies including RedNote and Lemon8. That hasn’t stopped Hamilton and other users from starting to learn Chinese languages and directing friends to their profiles on those TikTok alternative platforms. Language-learning app Duolingo announced on Jan. 15 that it’s seen a whopping 216% growth in Mandarin learners compared with last year.
Other TikTok alternatives that appear to be gaining ground on the app charts include short-form video apps Flip and Clapper, both based in the US. Each is in the top five of free downloaded apps in the Apple App Store.
