Chinese social media app RedNote is the first app as the TikTok ban approaches
With TikTok almost days away from being banned in the US, users of the app are pushing previously unknown apps to the top of the Apple and Google stores. The app that appears to be the most beneficial so far is a Chinese social media app called “RedNote” or Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book.”
The TikTok-like short video app is currently the number one app on Apple’s App Store and 34th on the Google Play Store. RedNote is gaining popularity as many TikTok creators have started sharing their experiences with the Chinese app. Meanwhile, on RedNote, several creators shared videos about welcoming “TikTok refugees” to the service.
The app is set up much like TikTok, with the ability to scroll through short video feeds based on your interests. Much of the app’s functionality is in Chinese, so it can be confusing to navigate, although there is a guide on TikTok that explains how to change the app’s language to English.
Although RedNote seems to have come out of nowhere, the app has been popular in China for years. CNBC reports that the more than a decade-old app is seen as a rival to ByteDance’s Douyin and e-commerce giant Alibaba, which has about 300 million users.
RedNote is not the only app developed by concerned TikTok users. Another ByteDance app, Lemon8, is also trending on both the Apple and Google stores, where it ranks second and first, respectively. But while TikTok itself has had its moments, Lemon8 is likely to face the same fate as TikTok if the Supreme Court sides with the Biden Administration, which it is.
Another video app , which describes itself as “where the community meets to shop,” is also trending in both app stores. The app, from Los Angeles-based Humans, Inc., includes short videos and in-app storefronts. It is currently ranked 14th in Google’s app store and ranked 4th in Apple’s. The company was valued at more than $1 billion last year, according to.
Another app that appears to have benefited from the impending TikTok ban is something called “ReelShort.” Although the app’s name sounds like a play on Instagram’s reels and YouTube’s Shorts – both of which are well-established TikTok clones – the app seems to be less of a TikTok clone and more demanding. The app features bite-sized clips of long “movies” with quirky titles like “The Heiress Blacklisted Her Husband” and “In Love with the Alpha.” ReelShort is number seven on the App Store and number two on Google Play.
While it is unlikely that any of these apps will remain popular for long, the fact that so many unknown apps have risen to the top of the app stores so quickly is another sign of how influential TikTok users and creators can be. It also highlights that the TikTok ban is the only impact of Chinese tech companies in the US.
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