On January 14 (Reuters) - The Chinese social media app RedNote has seen a surge in new users just days before a proposed ban, as the company moves quickly to capitalize on the sudden increase while balancing the moderation of English-language content, Reuters sources revealed.
During a live chat labeled “TikTok Refugees” on RedNote on Monday, over 50,000 American and Chinese users gathered in the room.
Experienced Chinese users, somewhat surprised, welcomed their American counterparts and exchanged thoughts on topics such as food and youth unemployment.
At times, however, the American users ventured into riskier topics.
“Is it okay to ask about how laws are different in China versus Hong Kong?” inquired one American user.
"We prefer not to talk about that here," replied a Chinese user.
Such spontaneous cultural exchanges were occurring all over RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in China, as the app climbed to the top of the U.S. download charts this week. The app's popularity was fueled by American social media users seeking an alternative to TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance and facing a potential ban.
In just two days, over 700,000 new users signed up for Xiaohongshu, as per a source close to the company speaking to Reuters. Xiaohongshu had not responded immediately to a request for comment.
U.S. downloads of RedNote increased by over 200% compared to the previous year this week, and by 194% from the prior week, based on estimates from app data research firm Sensor Tower.
As of Tuesday, RedNote was the second most popular free app on Apple's App Store list. Lemon8, another social media app owned by ByteDance, saw a similar surge last month, with downloads rising by 190% in December to around 3.4 million.
The influx seemed to catch RedNote off guard, with two sources familiar with the company informing Reuters that the company was racing to moderate English-language content and develop English-Chinese translation tools.
Unlike other Chinese social apps subject to domestic moderation regulations, RedNote maintains only one version of its app.
Nevertheless, the company is eager to leverage the sudden increase in attention, viewing it as a potential path to achieve global popularity akin to TikTok's.
RedNote, a venture capital-backed startup valued at $17 billion, allows users to curate photos, videos, and text chronicling their lives. It has been considered a potential IPO candidate in China, attracting over 300 million users seeking travel advice, anti-aging products, and restaurant recommendations.
The stock prices of some China-listed companies engaging with RedNote, such as Hangzhou Onechance Tech Corp, surged as much as 20% on Tuesday, reaching the daily limit.
The rise in U.S. users comes ahead of a January 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban on national security grounds.
TikTok currently boasts roughly 170 million American users, about half of the country's population, and is extremely popular among young people and advertisers targeting them.
Stella Kittrell, a 29-year-old content creator from Baltimore, Maryland, stated, "Americans using RedNote feels like a cheeky middle finger to the U.S. government for its overreach into businesses and privacy concerns." Kittrell, who joined RedNote for potential collaborations with Chinese companies, found the app helpful.
Some users mentioned switching to RedNote as an alternative to Facebook and Instagram owned by Meta Platforms, expressing doubts about rebuilding their TikTok follower base on those platforms.
“It’s not the same: Instagram, Snapchat, or any other app,” remarked Brian Atabansi, a 29-year-old business analyst and content creator based in San Diego, California. “Mainly due to the organic community-building environment on TikTok,” he added.