With TikTok just days away from being banned in the U.S., users of the app are pushing some previously obscure apps to the top of Apple and Google stores. The app that appears to have benefited the most so far is a Chinese social media app called Xiaohongshu, which translates as “RedNote” or “little red book.”
The TikTok-like app for short videos is currently the number one app on the Apple App Store and number 34 on the Google Play Store. RedNote is gaining popularity as many TikTok creators begin their experience using the Chinese app. Meanwhile, on RedNote, many creators shared videos welcoming “TikTok refugees” to the service.
The app is set up very similarly to TikTok, including the ability to vertically scroll through a feed of short videos based on your interests. Most of the app’s interface is in Chinese, so it can be a bit confusing to navigate. However, TikTok does have some instructions on how to change the app language to English.
RedNote may seem like it came out of nowhere, but the app has been popular in China for years. The more than 10-year-old app is seen as a challenger to ByteDance’s Douyin, which has about 300 million users, and e-commerce giant Alibaba, according to CNBC.
RedNote isn’t the only app boosted by anxious TikTok users. Lemon8, another ByteDance app, is also gaining popularity, ranking second and first in the Apple and Google stores, respectively. But while TikTok itself has at times, Lemon8 will likely face the same fate as TikTok if the Supreme Court sides with the Biden administration.
Another video app, described as “where social meets shopping,” is also popular in both app stores. The app, from Los Angeles-based Humans, Inc., features short videos and an in-app store. It currently ranks 14th in the Google Store and 4th in the Apple Store. Last year, the company was valued at more than $1 billion, according to .
Another app that appears to have benefited from the impending TikTok ban is “ReelShort.” Although the app’s name sounds like a play on Instagram’s Reels and YouTube Shorts (both of which are well-known TikTok clones), the app seems more like a wannabe than a TikTok clone. The app contains short clips from long “movies” with bizarre titles like “The Heiress Blacklists Her Husband” and “Fall in Love with the Alpha.” ReelShort is ranked 7th and 2nd in the Google Play App Store.
It’s unlikely that any of these apps will remain popular for long, but the fact that so many relatively unknown apps have risen to the top of the app store so quickly is another sign of just how influential TikTok users and creators can be. It also highlights how banning just TikTok bans the influence of Chinese tech companies in the United States.
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