A person close to RedNote told Reuters that more than 700,000 new users joined in just two days. The New York Times reported that more than 100,000 people joined a live group chat hosted by a user named TikTok Refugee Club on Tuesday.
Many of these American newcomers are calling themselves TikTok refugees, a term that’s proliferating across the app in hashtags, comment sections and live chats. And the app’s Chinese users appear to be welcoming them with open arms, asking for cat photos and help with their English homework.
While RedNote — like all social media apps in China — is subject to government censorship, many users are cheering the opportunity for cross-cultural exchange, especially given the tense relationship between the U.S. and Chinese governments and the fact that major platforms like Google and Facebook are blocked in China.
“For so long we really haven’t been able to connect or talk with each other like this, but now we finally can, and it feels so special,” one Chinese user, who identified himself as Abe, said in a now-viral post. “This is such a real chance for us to get to know each other and maybe create something amazing together … You are not just welcome here, I really, really hope you will stay.”
The lifestyle app is China’s take on Instagram, favored by women
The Chinese equivalent of TikTok is the ByteDance-owned platform Douyin.
RedNote is a different app altogether. It’s considered China’s answer to Instagram, with a layout similar to Pinterest (displaying multiple posts at the same time) and a focus on travel, makeup, fashion and shopping.
Users can post short videos, engage in live chats, call each other and even purchase products within the app.
It launched in 2013, originally named “Hong Kong Shopping Guide,” and Reuters reports that it aimed at Chinese tourists looking for local recommendations.
Over the years, it grew steadily and took on the name Xiaohongshu, which translates to “Little Red Book.” That phrase traditionally refers to a collection of quotations from Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong.
RedNote boomed among younger consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now valued at $17 billion. It currently boasts 300 million monthly active users, 79% of whom are women, according to TechCrunch.
The app has caught on quickly among American audiences since last week, according to Sensor Tower.
It says U.S. mobile downloads of the app increased more than 20 times over the seven-day period beginning Jan. 8, compared to the previous week, and are up more than 30 times compared to the same period last year.
More than a fifth of RedNote’s total app downloads so far this month have come from the U.S., the firm says, compared to just 2% during the same period in 2024.
American users navigate language barriers and censorship
RedNote’s new American users are confronting the potentially taboo topics of privacy and censorship head-on. Users — from both countries — are joking about finally meeting their “Chinese spies” and willingly handing over data (including the aforementioned “cat tax“).
The New York Times reports that in a group chat this week viewed more than 30,000 times, “participants discussed censorship and shared tips in the comments on how to avoid being banned from the platform for bringing up politically sensitive topics.”