US TikTok users flock to Chinese app Xiaohongshu in protest with TikTok ban looming

HONG KONG (AP) — As the threat of a TikTok ban looms, U.S. TikTok users are flocking to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu – making it the top downloaded app in the U.S.

Some of the “TikTok refugees,” as they call themselves, say the TikTok alternative, a Chinese app, is being chosen in protest of the TikTok ban.

The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule on a law that stipulates TikTok must be divested from its Chinese parent company ByteDance by Jan. 19 or face a ban in the U.S. over national security concerns.

After the justices seemed inclined to let the law stand, masses of TikTok users began creating accounts on Xiaohongshu, including hashtags such as #tiktokrefugee or #tiktok to their posts. Since Monday, Xiaohongshu has become the top downloaded free app on Apple’s App Store in the U.S.

Related: Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office

Xiaohongshu, which in English means “Little Red Book” is a Chinese social media app that combines e-commerce, short video and posting functions.

The app has gained traction in China and other regions and countries with a Chinese diaspora such as Malaysia and Taiwan in recent years, racking up 300 million monthly active users, a majority of whom are young women who use it as a de-facto search engine for product, travel and restaurant recommendations, as well as makeup and skincare tutorials.

The #tiktokrefugee topic has racked up over 160,000 posts on Xiaohongshu, many of which are videos of American users introducing themselves and asking for tips on how to navigate the app, which they are calling “RedNote”.

Xiaohongshu did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Alexis Garman is a 21-year-old TikTok user in Oklahoma with nearly 20,000 followers. She joined Xiaohongshu on Tuesday after seeing others do the same. Garman said she is not particularly concerned about data privacy.

“What I experienced on (Xiaohongshu) so far has been really great and inviting,” said Garman, who has left two posts on the platform.

“I like your makeup,” a Xiaohongshu user from Beijing comments one of her posts, and Garman thanks them in a reply. A user from the southwestern province of Sichuan commented “I am your Chinese spy … please surrender your personal information or the photographs of your cat (or dog).”

“TikTok possibly getting banned doesn’t just take away an app, it takes away jobs, friends and community,” Garman said. “Personally, the friends and bond I have with my followers will now be gone.”

Other American users who have joined Xiaohongshu have been outspoken about joining the app in protest of the possible TikTok ban.

An American user with the handle Definitelynotchippy made a video addressed to the Chinese users of Xiaohongshu, explaining why Americans are downloading the app.

“The reason that our government is telling us that they are banning TikTok is because they’re insisting that it’s owned by you guys, the Chinese people, government, whatever,” she said. “And they’re trying to make us think that you guys are bad.”

“A lot of us are smarter than that though so we decided to piss off our government and download an actual Chinese app,” she said. “We call that trolling … in short we’re here to spite our government and to learn about China and hang out with you guys.”

Chinese users on Xiaohongshu have so far welcomed American users, with some offering to teach them Chinese. Others have offered tips on navigating the Chinese internet, warning the new users not to mention or discuss anything considered politically sensitive as they may get censored. In some cases, Chinese students have asked the Americans for help with their English homework.

Like most apps and internet services in China, Xiaohongshu is subject to censorship. Platforms typically enforce censorship by deleting or shadowbanning content that Beijing deems politically sensitive. Large Western platforms, such as Google and Facebook, are blocked in China.

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Though Xiaohongshu has seen an influx of users, it is not clear if the app could replace TikTok, which has created an ecosystem that allows for e-commerce and advertising. Before TikTok was under threat, the overwhelming majority of Xiaohongshu’s users were Chinese, and the app, which lacks translation features, is not optimized for an international user base.

Even though U.S.-China tensions remain high over trade and national security, many Chinese and American Xiaohongshu users have pursued friendly cultural exchanges on the app. Those interactions range from live chat rooms to comments on posts.

A TikTok refugee who goes by the name Amanda posted a video on how happy she was in finding the Xiaohongshu app, saying that Chinese users have been welcoming. Under her post, a Chinese user comments: “We are not enemy, we are human beings (living) in one world!”

“We also never … had a chance to communicate with you foreign guys directly sharing the same app or platform, so the (feeling is) mutual since you come on this app,” another says.

In a comment posted in Chinese, Amanda, the TikTok “refugee” said she would work on posting captions and subtitles in Chinese in the future.

“I am so happy to talk to Chinese people and learn about your culture and experiences,” she said.