We had just gotten used to TikTok!
RedNote, or Xiaohongshuu, has risen to the top of the most downloaded apps in the US over the past two weeks. It currently rivals TikTok in popularity!
But can we discuss rivalry here and what new possibilities RedNote offers us?
TikTok: From scepticism to adoration
Can you believe it’s been almost a decade since the TikTok app was created? Although it might be hard to imagine yourself learning dance moves to follow TikTok dance trends back in 2016, things had changed by 2019.
The surge in TikTok’s popularity was remarkable! The number of users grew at a pace unmatched by other competing apps like Facebook or Instagram. As you surely remember, this app’s massive growth occurred during the pandemic years. It seemed like everywhere you looked, young people were filming TikToks, dancing to specific steps or lipsyncing (lipsync = synchronizing lip movements with audio) to popular songs, movie scenes, or similar content. By October 2020, TikTok had reached over 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide!
And how could it not?
Easy to use, the app was the perfect response to the needs of Generation Z. Also, Millennials and even older users couldn’t resist it for long! Based on videos up to 3 minutes long, with plenty of music, interesting filters, games, and fun trends, TikTok became an app that provided plenty of freedom for creating entertaining and creative content. However, it has also proved to be an excellent platform for expressing opinions on important social issues, connecting communities, and exchanging views. Other apps began adapting their features to offer a similar experience, attempting to compete with TikTok.
It seemed like nothing could shake TikTok’s dominance. But now, things look different…
From fun to ban
Over the years, users have noticed certain negative aspects of TikTok, which led some countries to question banning the app. Among the concerns were some worrying trends, including those dangerous to safety or people’s lives. Another potentially harmful factor was the issue of data protection and national security.
For this reason, the US Supreme Court ruled this January that TikTok would be banned unless its owners sold their business to an American company. Since the owners refused to do so, TikTok was no longer available for download from Google or Apple stores in the US as of January 19.
Although it was expected that users would turn to apps owned by Meta, that didn’t happen.
The next day, news broke that RedNote had experienced massive downloads, gaining hundreds of thousands of new users within two days!
Migration to RedNote
Will we soon be reading novels about people’s migrations from one social network to another? Based on recent events, this no longer sounds like science fiction.
After all, if someone had told you just a few weeks ago that the most popular hashtag of January would be #TikTokRefugee, would you have believed them?
US citizens were not happy with the decision made by their Supreme Court and didn’t accept the explanation regarding security measures. Their protest against what was seen as a form of censorship was expressed by downloading the Chinese app RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshuu. While they could still use both apps, American users were, on one hand, exploring this new app, while on TikTok, they were creating memes and other video content about migrating from one app to another.
RedNote quickly became a space for connecting two cultures. It allowed users to explore different traditions and create fun content!
RedNote – How does this app work?
Although the rest of the world learned about it through recent events in the US and TikTok’s ban, RedNote (or “Little Red Notebook,” which is the literal translation of the app’s name in Chinese) is actually more thematically similar to Instagram or Pinterest.
It focuses on recommendations about beauty, travel, fashion, and similar topics and is especially popular among women. Like TikTok, RedNote is based on video content, allowing users to share moments from their lives, present their lifestyles, review products, or even shop within the app through e-commerce options.
The interface is relatively simple, and like TikTok, RedNote has a “For you” page. The difference is that more videos appear at once. Additionally, the RedNote algorithm is more based on the user’s interests, emphasizing personalized content.
The biggest challenge with using this app is the language barrier (also a subject of many TikTok memes), which makes it seem like the US government did itself a disservice. Not only is the app’s interface in Chinese but so is its privacy policy, which users accept without fully understanding what it says.
The future of RedNote?
TikTok’s position in the US is, no doubt, more of a political issue. After all, the proposal to ban the app, which only lasted 24 hours, coincided with the presidential elections.
When Donald Trump came to power, a decision was made to postpone the TikTok ban so that an agreement could be reached about its usage and national security protection. Interestingly, TikTok thanked the newly elected President Trump for “restoring the service”.
The discussion about TikTok’s usage in the United States will certainly continue, as it’s necessary to reconcile the expressed desire to protect user data with over 170 million Americans using this app! It’s also important to note that it’s a crucial communication channel for over 7 million small businesses.
Despite the entire situation, RedNote is still here.
Not as an alternative but as a new, different, and engaging social network that many who have discovered it are eager to continue using. We expect the app’s owners to try to adapt it for a larger number of users outside the Chinese-speaking region, meaning more users not only in the US but worldwide.
Will RedNote succeed in setting new trends, like TikTok, and influencing how social networks function?
We’ll have to wait and see.
