As the US plans to ban Chinese owned app TikTok, people have been flocking to its biggest rival RedNote, another Chinese owned platform that looks very similar
With the impending ban on TikTok looming in the US, social media fanatics have been turning to another platform set to rival the huge Chinese giant.
RedNote is an alternative to TikTok which also hails from China, and it’s said to be a mix of Instagram and TikTok in one. Known locally as ‘Xiaohongshu’ that translates to “little red book”, it’s swiftly become the most downloaded free app in the US App Store, and Brits are now following suit.
People already using the app have joked about welcoming ‘TikTok refugees’- those who are switching over ahead of the TikTok ban on Sunday.
The TikTok ban is set to go ahead if the owners of the app don’t sell the the platform to a non-‘foreign adversary’ – and will become illegal to use in America. This is due to the app facing backlash over ‘spying’ allegations from the Chinese goverment, and America is planning on banning it if it’s not sold.
However RedNote isn’t new, it has been around since 2013, first launching in Shanghai. It’s believed to incorporate features used on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest – three of the biggest social media platforms – and users can share content, reviews and videos. It also lets users live stream and hosts in-app shopping.
Despite it looking extremely similar to its rival TikTok, it differs slightly, with features such as posting images, reviews and allowing community discussions. The app saw a surge in users during the pandemic, mostly with Chinese users, and now has over 300 million monthly active users according to New York Post.
RedNote is owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology while TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. Both apps have the same vertical scroll feature to view content, with an algorithm-based feed. The free app is easy to sign up for, but asks for personal data including name, age, email address and phone number.
Now Brits appear to be following Americans by downloading the social media app, which has gained nearly a million users in the last two days, in what has been described as a “cheeky middle figure to the US government”.
Social media users have been sharing their thoughts on the new app, with many calling it a ‘clone’ of TikTok. One person penned to X: “All the ‘TikTok refugees’ are going over to RedNote, signing terms and conditions in Chinese. Baby, y’all are registering for Squid Games…”
While another joked: “American government: ‘we’re banning TikTok cause it’s a Chinese app and you data needs to be protected’. American citizens: ‘Fine we’re going over to RedNote a Chinese app based in China’.”
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