The events of the past 72 hours surrounding TikTok’s ban in the US unfolded like a chaotic social media feed— scroll too fast, and you’ve missed an important piece of news. One moment, the Chinese-owned social media platform was banned; the next, it was reinstated. In between, users even found a surprising alternative.
It all began on Sunday, January 19, with a Supreme Court ruling to enforce TikTok’s ban due to national security concerns over user data being accessed by China.
For TikTok’s U.S. user base, the Supreme Court’s decision to ban the app was nothing short of devastating. Casual users lost their primary source of entertainment, while creators faced an even bigger crisis as their livelihoods were put in jeopardy.
Most users don’t accept the official reasoning for banning TikTok. Many argue that they’re already aware their data is being collected—whether by China or their own government makes little difference to them.
In response, they’ve come up with an unlikely, even spiteful, way to protest the decision. Over a million TikTok users from the US have flocked to another Chinese-owned social media platform called Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), or as it’s known in the USA, “RedNote.”
The transition was so swift and drastic that RedNote became the number-one app on Apple’s App Store overnight, sparking a widespread discussion.
On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order delaying TikTok’s ban for 75 days, giving it a temporary lifeline to negotiate a resolution. But even after TikTok returned, many users stayed on RedNote, which boasts questions: what’s so special about this app, and could it potentially replace TikTok as the most popular social network in the US?
What is RedNote?
It’s worth noting that RedNote is the app’s Westernized name, while its original name, Xiaohongshu, translates to “The Little Red Book.”
Xiaohongshu is a Chinese social media platform launched in 2013 by internet entrepreneur Charlwin Mao. Yes, you read that right—a man named Mao calls his platform The Little Red Book. How convenient.
The platform has been compared to Instagram—or at least the earlier iterations of Instagram, where users shared moments from their daily lives instead of spamming reels or poorly crafted AI-generated images.
The Little Red Book is particularly popular among upper-class Chinese citizens, who use it to share travel photos, recommend upscale restaurants, or showcase their wardrobes. It advertises anything you might associate with the lifestyle of a high-earning individual.
However, the app does not show the daily struggles of lower-class citizens, creating an overly polished and unrealistic impression of life in China. Any political content is strictly forbidden, as the platform must adhere to a carefully controlled content policy that aligns with government standards.
Despite its relative anonymity in the West, Xiaohongshu is quite popular in China, boasting over 450 million users.
TikTok Refugees
It’s unclear who initiated the move from TikTok to RedNote, but it feels like a perfect act of rebellion against the U.S. government. Not only does RedNote appear to have an even tighter grip from China than TikTok, but its name is also a slap in Uncle Sam’s face.
Things quickly snowballed, and RedNote became the number-one app on Apple’s store as millions of TikTok users flocked to it.
The sudden influx of U.S. users created a strange yet unexpectedly harmonious environment on the platform. For many, it was their first cultural exchange with the other side.
Users began exchanging messages, memes, opinions, and experiences. They asked each other about stereotypes, how things are done across the ocean, and shared perspectives, causing the community to grow rapidly.
American users started referring to themselves as “TikTok Refugees,” highlighting their reasons for joining RedNote while also making a meme out of it. Meanwhile, their Chinese counterparts started requesting a “cat tax,” asking new users to share pictures of cats as an entry fee to join the community.
Some American users were even inspired to start learning Mandarin—both to communicate better with their newfound friends and to better understand the app’s interface, which is entirely in Chinese.
Will RedNote Replace TikTok?
These interactions between members of two fundamentally different nations are wholesome and prove that people are people no matter where they’re from. But on the business side of things, a serious question has emerged – will RedNote now replace TikTok?
Is the instant traction the app has received enough for people to forget about TikTok and embrace another Chinese app?
The answer is probably no.
RedNote’s rise in popularity in the U.S. wasn’t organic. It was an instinctive reaction by passionate TikTok users. Once the novelty wears off, the app’s appeal will likely decline.
The next challenge lies with the app itself, which is entirely in Chinese. While translating buttons and sentences might feel cool at first, it’s unlikely that users will tolerate the inconvenience for long.
TikTok’s success lies in its ease of use and constant stream of engaging content. Breaking that seamless experience with frequent trips to Google Translate undermines the app’s purpose of satisfying users’ dopamine addiction.
Update: RedNote added a feature to let users translate posts and comments between Mandarin and English.
Even if the language barrier is resolved, RedNote is still a Chinese app. The government heavily censors it to comply with appropriate content standards. This likely won’t sit well with the American audience, who are accustomed to having more freedom of expression.
This creates two possible scenarios: moderators either heavily censor American content, driving users away, or they split the app into separate versions for each market, breaking apart the international community that attracted users in the first place. Neither scenario bodes well for RedNote.
And finally, TikTok isn’t going anywhere—yet. President Donald Trump’s executive order has given new hope to TikTok users that an agreement will be reached and that the service will remain active in the US.
Although TikTok is not currently in the App Store, it will likely return if legal obstacles are removed.
It’s hard to imagine RedNote will overcome all of these obstacles to become the premier social media platform in the US. It may not die down entirely, but it won’t challenge either TikTok or any other major social media in the Western market.
And even if it does, the US government will be ready to swipe it away like an unwanted notification.