Investing.com — As a proposed ban on popular social media app TikTok approaches in the United States, Chinese social media app RedNote has seen a surge in new users. The app, known as Xiaohongshu in China, has attracted American and Chinese users, with more than 50,000 people joining a live chat titled “Refugees from TikTok” on Monday. Topics of conversation ranged from food to youth unemployment, with occasional questions about the differences in laws between China and Hong Kong.
The app’s sudden popularity was driven by American social media users looking for an alternative to ByteDance-owned TikTok in the days before its possible ban. In just two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Xiaohongshu, according to a source close to the company. Downloads of the app in the United States increased more than 200% year-over-year this week, and 194% from the previous week, according to estimates from app data research firm Sensor Tower.
Another ByteDance-owned social media app, Lemon8, saw a similar surge in downloads last month, becoming the second most popular free app on Apple’s (NASDAQ:) App Store list on Tuesday. Downloads of the app increased by 190% in December, reaching around 3.4 million.
RedNote was caught off guard by the sudden influx of users, however, with sources saying the company is now working to moderate English content and develop English-Chinese translation tools. The company, unlike many Chinese social apps, maintains only one version of its app, subject to national moderation rules.
RedNote, valued at $17 billion, lets users curate photos, videos and text documenting their lives. The app has become a search engine for its more than 300 million users, offering travel tips, anti-aging creams and restaurant recommendations. The app’s sudden popularity led to a 20% rise in the stock prices of some Chinese listed companies that do business with RedNote, such as Hangzhou Onechance Tech Corp.
-The increase in U.S. users comes ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban over national security concerns. TikTok is currently used by about 170 million Americans, about half the country’s population, and is particularly popular with young people and advertisers looking to reach them.
Some users joined RedNote as an alternative to Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:), and Elon Musk’s X. Despite doubts about rebuilding their TikTok follower base on these apps, users like Brian Atabansi, a business analyst and content creator based in San Diego, California, enjoy the organic aspect of community building on TikTok .
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