As the potential US TikTok ban approaches, American content creators are turning to Xiaohongshu (RedNote), a Chinese app akin to Instagram and Pintere

On the heels of TikTok's looming shutdown on January 19 over its ownership in the U.S. (unless the Supreme Court intervenes), it looks like another American users are flocking to a Chinese app called Xiaohongshu as people become less optimistic that TikTok can overturn U.

It holds the top position among the most downloaded social networks in the Apple stores in the United States. Shuang is hooked on an app that many of its followers believe ironically adopted the name of a popular red-covered book full of doctrinal quotes from the founding father of communist China.

RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, is often compared to TikTok due to its focus on short-form content videos.

In the days leading up to a proposed US government ban on the social media platform TikTok, American users have turned to another Chinese-owned app, Xiaohongshu.

Qu, 40, is currently president of and owns an estimated 10% stake in the private company; Forbes estimates she has a net worth of around $1.3 billion. She grew up in Wuhan, China, and studied journalism at Beijing Foreign Studies University before working in marketing, as Fortune ’s Nicholas Gordon reported in October 2024.

With days to go before TikTok may be banned in the US over security concerns, users have sent a little-known app to the top of the app store charts. Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, may not be a household name here but it has millions of users in China,

As self-described " TikTok refugees" pour onto the Chinese social media app RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, some foreign netizens are already running up against the country's extensive censorship apparatus. Newsweek reached out to Xiaohongshu with a request for comment via a general contact email address.

Several social media apps have appearing high in app store chart rankings as a potential U.S. ban hangs over the heads of TikTok and its American users.

Chinese app Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English, has become the most downloaded social networking app in the Apple App Store over the last 24 hours.

As the impending United States TikTok ban grows closer, Americans are beginning to look for another form of social media to replace the app. The ban, which was signed by President Joe Biden due to national security concerns over the Chinese-owned app,

Droves of self-described "TikTok refugees" migrated over to other Chinese apps, specifically Lemon8 and RedNote.