Tiktok is an app where short-formed videos can be posted for entertainment, controlled by ByteDance. Over 1 billion people worldwide are confirmed to have downloaded the app and use it daily, 150 million of these people in the United States. TikTok may be banned by the Supreme Court past the 19th or sometime this year, so crowds have been flocking to an app similar, RedNote. RedNote is Chinese and mainly in Mandarin, besides the translation they provide.
RedNote, also called Xiaohongshu, has recorded they have gained 700,000 users just within the ban being announced. Although it’s the closest thing to Tik Tok, it also has its own unique look and style, only having few similarities to TikTok. The format of the app looks a bit closer to Pinterest, showing squares of different videos and you choose which you’d like to start with. Past that, you can scroll and see all your recommended videos. The simple and smooth transitions to the app definitely make it much easier for the transitioning users to understand.
RedNote has other similarities to TikTok besides its smooth layout, like certain accessible features. The ability to post short videos, follow other people and gain followers, and many other things are features that are available. Users can even purchase products from the app. Live chats and live streams, along with topics of makeup, travel, fashion, and whatever interests you are on RedNote.
The name, Xiaohongshu, translates to “Little Red Book”, The phrase referring to the chinese communist leader Mao Zedong. The app was founded in 2013, originally being called “Hong Kong Shopping Guide,” Started for people to post local recommendations for tourists.
The app has increased in user rate especially over the last few weeks, past being discovered by the public after the tiktok ban was brought up. Many rave about the app, saying it’s super entertaining and the closest to TikTok we can get. Beginning January 8th, U.S mobile downloads have increased more than 20 times more than before, and are almost 30 times the size it was the same time last year.
Although the app is mainly geared towards women, having a 79% rate of females downloading the app, men have been loading in. RedNote is comparable to Tik Tok, now especially with all the humor people have carried over through apps. The format is really easy to navigate, you can easily find other users, and still post the same sort of video along with it.
With the TikTok ban, the similarity between the two apps has users around the world urgently migrating to Xiaohongshu (RedNote). While this replacement has many excited, there are some things that transitioning users should be aware of.
Xiaohongshu – like TikTok – is a Chinese owned company. With the default language being Mandarin, some new users are struggling to navigate to the settings to switch it to their language of choice. Some users around the world might be saddened to realize that RedNote doesn’t support their language – reason being that the application only supports a handful of languages. Since the app is mainly used for watching videos, it might not be much of an obstacle, but it can make it difficult to get around the app easily. Another thing to consider – it may be difficult to understand the majority of videos at the moment due to the dominating Chinese content creators.
With a new app, there are going to be different terms and conditions that need to be obeyed. Many TikTokers have run into obstacles while trying to upload their regular content on the new application. Some people don’t realize that there is not to be any political videos or anything violating the One-China principle. This means it’s prohibited to post things that try to separate China’s territory or violate other factors from the One-China principle. There is also no tolerance for discriminatory speech, suggestive material, self promotion, unhealthy/dangerous conditions, or gore. That being said, certain fandoms have been disappointed that they cannot see their usual content due to these violations. If you don’t follow the terms and conditions, you can be permanently banned.
With the reminder of RedNote being a Chinese company, it doesn’t follow rights like American companies. That being said, your free speech is not protected. If you post something that isn’t supported, you are at risk of having your post or account terminated.
Along with not being able to use excessive self promotion, there’s no guarantee that you will be earning money from the app. Currently, it is unconfirmed if creators will get paid for supporting the app with their content.
