It likely comes as no surprise that on January 19, TikTok, a beloved short form content platform used by over half of young adult Americans according to the Pew Research center, was removed from the app store. Additionally, TikTok self-elected to disable its service within the United States, citing the app store ban. This follows Congress’s ban on the app after attempting to force its sale to an American owner. And though the ban was short-lived, as President Donald Trump extended the ban for another 75 days, the threat to the app’s existence is clear. The event was widely publicized, from President Donald Trump’s attempts to ban the app in 2020, to the congressional action in 2024, culminating in the ban itself on January 19th, with plenty of more news likely to follow as the second ban deadline looms.
What might be less known is a competitor that suddenly rose to the top of charts in the days leading up to the ban. Xiaohongshu (小红书) is a Chinese app that seems to be a fusion between Pinterest, Instagram, and, of course TikTok. As the January 19 deadline loomed, TikTok influencers were attempting to find alternatives. Among more familiar alternatives such as X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram arose Xiaohongshu, known as REDNote on the app store.
Seemingly out of spite against the TikTok ban, millions of Americans made their way to Xiaohongshu starting on January 13. The spite is seemingly born to counter the clear Sinophobia that led to TikTok’s ban. TikTok is owned by Singaporean CEO Shou Zi Chew, who was grilled by senators for potentially harboring Chinese or communist sympathies. Therefore, it seems that many of the TikTok refugees (as they call themselves) moved to Xiaohongshu to show that they don’t care about Chinese or communist leanings in their apps.
I was part of this massive wave to Xiaohongshu on January 13. Immediately, it was obvious that this app was not intended for English speakers. Though there is a rough translation for many of the essential features (which only some users were lucky enough to get when installing the app), there are many parts left untranslated in Mandarin. However, if you are lucky enough to get the English variant on install, or if you persevere to find the English translation after creating an account, the app is certainly usable.
My first hours on my feed were quite interesting. Half of the content I saw was from Chinese netizens (portmanteau of “internet” and “citizen”) before the wave of TikTok refugees joined, completely in Mandarin and fairly unapproachable to the average American. The other half were, of course, from the refugees, attempting to make sense of the new app. As it was nighttime in China when the refugees came over, few Chinese netizens were online. But the few that were online worked overtime to help welcome their new American netizen neighbors. Over the coming hours, an intense shift began to occur. Chinese influencers with varying fluencies in English began to post content captioned in English and Mandarin, welcoming the TikTok refugees. The app saw its first few trends, with Chinese commenters demanding a “cat/pet tax” from their American counterparts (by the way, you can post pictures in comments, how nice!)
As more of China began to wake up to the sudden influx of Americans on their app, and as America went to bed, Xiaohongshu began to see a new type of content. Chinese netizens, noticing the clear culture difference, produced content to help Americans adjust to the expectations of the app. Xiaohongshu has different expectations for content as opposed to most Western apps. Freedom of speech, for the most part, is still guaranteed. However, content regarding weapons, drugs, nudity, and controversial political topics are either frowned upon or outright banned. Despite this, Chinese and American netizens alike were extremely respectful to each other.
As the second day of Xiaohongshu started in America, Americans discovered how to create posts with text. This has begun what I can only describe as one of the greatest cultural exchanges in world history. Americans, en masse, began to post questions about Chinese culture. No topic was spared: politics, healthcare, day-to-day living, food, pets, race, street photos, etc. Though in not as great of number, Chinese netizens were also asking questions about America. Decades of Sinophobic propaganda were torn down in an instant, as the TikTok refugees came to the (perhaps shocking) realization that our Chinese counterparts are not all that different from us. From this was born an intense sense of comradery between all parties involved.
On this second day and beyond I also began to see netizens from other countries join the app. Despite no ban looming in their countries, I saw users join from Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, and many more. American news outlets and politicians alike grew wary of this sudden influence of Xiaohongshu, much to the amusement of its users. Despite the often-aggressive tones of these articles, I saw one note from a Chinese netizen that summed my feelings up nicely, “We can leave all the adult complications behind and just make friends in a pure, organic [and] happy way. […] It becomes so much easier to embrace our differences and find what’s in common. [I’m] so happy to be kids again with you guys.”
That entire week saw a good influx of users from across the world migrating to Xiaohongshu, which, as you might suspect, culminated on the day of the ban itself. On January 19, a second wave of Americans popped up on the app, as the TikTok ban took place. The ban itself was short lived, as you might imagine, with credit given to President Trump before he even had a chance to take office (and that’s totally ignoring the fact that the ban never included a shut down of TikTok’s servers, meaning the error message users saw was put up by TikTok arbitrarily).
Since then, the hype around Xiaohongshu has died down significantly. It has dropped from its #1 position down to #20 in the “Social” tab on the Google Play store. The wave of negative press subsided, especially as the press would become inundated with the president’s executive actions. However, the app’s English community is still going strong. On my own explore page, there is a good mix of Mandarin, bilingual, and English content. The initial cultural shock has subsided, as netizens of various backgrounds discuss deeper questions about society and culture. There have been a few trends I’ve noticed during my time. Most of them have been waves of shock in Chinese netizens about the living conditions of Americans. Debt, working multiple jobs, the state of healthcare, the price of food. I still see Chinese users showing off grocery hauls that’d be >$100 here in the United States, for the equivalent price of $30, and there are plenty of bilingual text posts asking deeper questions about American society and culture.
Overall, I have enjoyed Xiaohongshu. What started out as a defiant move as I prepared for an alternative to TikTok has become a mainstay on my home screen. I personally prefer the Pintrest-style explore page, as I get to pick and choose the posts I view. There are absolutely no ads on the app for anyone, as the app is sustained by purchases on the in-app store. The cultural exchange has been enriching and enjoyable, and though it has greatly normalized since the first few days, there is still plenty of discovery for all kinds of users. Some creators from TikTok and other platforms have moved over, and have continued to actively post, a good sign for the app’s longevity. Unless the TikTok ban does truly come to fruition, I believe its unlikely to become a homepage staple like Instagram or TikTok, but maybe it doesn’t have to be. Right now the English community is somewhat niche, very polite, and quite enjoyable to be with. It has not drowned out the Chinese presence on the app, leading to a peaceful coexistence that I’m not sure would easily survive total adoption by Americans. It is not for everyone, but if you are the kind of person that is willing to make a jump, and spend the time to learn the customs and norms, I would strongly recommend giving Xiaohonshu/REDNote a try.