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The phrase ‘one person’s misfortune is another’s fortune’ has never seemed truer than now in the world of apps. While TikTok faces the threat of a potential ban in the United States, a new platform, RedNote, has emerged with force, rapidly climbing the ranks in the App Store. But what is RedNote, and what has made it the favorite among users as a possible successor to the video app?
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According to The New York Times, this Sunday, January 19, a law could go into effect that would ban TikTok across the United States, unless ByteDance, the Chinese-based parent company of the app, decides to sell it or the Supreme Court halts the law.
As the TikTok shutdown approaches, another Chinese app, Xiaohongshu (known as RedNote in English), has climbed to the top spot among free apps in the Apple Store in the U.S., as the aforementioned outlet reports.
A growing number of U.S. TikTok users have started appearing on Xiaohongshu or RedNote. | Credit: Xiaohongshu
What is RedNote?
Xiaohongshu or RedNote, founded in 2013, is one of the largest social networks in China, with 300 million users, according to the research firm Qian Gua. Known as the Chinese version of Instagram, the app has become very popular for sharing tips on travel, makeup, and fashion. Although it dominated the Chinese market, it hadn’t gained much relevance outside the Chinese-speaking world. Until now.
RedNote is gaining ground globally in the same week that TikTok could disappear in the U.S. An increasing number of U.S. TikTok users are joining the app, many of them commenting that they are doing so as a way to challenge the measures the U.S. is taking to ban TikTok.
Xiaohongshu or RedNote features spaces for photo posts, reviews, and also allows for community discussions and debates. | Credit: Xiaohongshu
The name Xiaohongshu could be seen as an ironic reference to a red-covered book with quotes from Mao Zedong, the founding father of communist China.
One of the app’s main features is its content algorithm, which focuses more on users’ interests than on the people they follow. According to some users, this helps promote more original content and reduces the influence of popular content creators.
The company behind the app, Xingin Information Technology, was founded by Charlwin Mao and Miranda Qu, and is based in Shanghai.
