What to know about Red, the Chinese app rising as a TikTok alternative

14 Jan 2025

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments that will determine TikTok’s fate in the US. As a potential ban looms, another Chinese-owned app has crept to the top of the App Store’s free downloads: Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book (Red), a social media and e-commerce platform.

Speculation over where TikTok users would migrate if a ban were to take effect has centred around at-home alternatives YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. But perhaps unexpectedly, some creators – ‘TikTok refugees’, they’re being called on the platform – are opting for Red to fill the impending TikTok void. (Though it’s worth noting that the app has had less traction on the Google Play store, ranking 36th as of Monday afternoon.)

They’re also taking to TikTok to encourage their followers to migrate with them. (Many are referring to Red as ‘Red Note’, which is what the app is called on Google Play.) “Congratulations to the US government for playing yourselves,” creator Saadia Mirza said in a TikTok video. “Do you know what creators are doing? My entire FYP has been people going to Red Note.” Another quipped: “If you guys hadn’t heard, we’re going over to Red Note.”

Tora Northman, a creative consultant and social media strategist (who is a content creator herself), downloaded Red on Monday. She’s UK-based, but her interest was piqued. “I’ve been seeing a lot of content on TikTok around Red/XHS (Xiaohongshu) today and how people are more keen to move over than to start posting on Instagram Reels,” she says. “The style of content on TikTok is unique and so many people have found a sense of community on the app. I figured I might as well download it and see if I genuinely think it could be a replacement to TikTok.”

Creators, many of whom earn money from their TikTok videos thanks to the platform’s Creator Fund, are scrambling to seek out a new home where their communities might follow them. The second most-downloaded app today is Lemon8, lauded as another potential TikTok alternative. But there’s a problem: Lemon8 is also owned by Bytedance. And, per the forthcoming law that would enforce TikTok’s ban, any subsidiaries of Bytedance will not be allowed to operate in the US.

Female-founded Neptune is another generating some buzz. Still in beta testing, the US-based platform geared towards creators, promising community-friendly algorithms and monetisation opportunities.