As TikTok heads toward a possible ban in the United States, the rush to find another short video app is intensifying. Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English, has taken off in the US and currently sits at No. 1 in the Apple App Store's free app rankings in the country.
What is RedNote?
RedNote has a Pinterest-like design and is widely regarded as the Chinese alternative to Instagram. The social media app was founded in 2013 by Charlwin Mao Wenchao and Miranda Qu Fang as a shopping guide for Chinese tourists and currently has more than 300 million monthly active users, according to a Bloomberg report.
The app is said to have taken off among the younger Chinese population during the pandemic. It has also raised around $917 million in venture capital to date, with many notable names backing it, including Tencent, Alibaba, ZhenFund, DST, HongShan and Temasek, TechCrunch reported.
RedNote has seen success with its strategy of using influencers to sell products to millions of people tagged with products as they scroll through photos and videos. RedNote is on track to double its profits to more than $1 billion by 2024, while an initial public offering may also be in the works.
Why is TikTok banned in the US?
TikTok is facing a ban in the US under a bipartisan law passed in Congress in April that requires the Chinese company to sell by January 19 or face a ban in the country. The bill was submitted for reasons of privacy and national law. security challenges related to the app's ties to China. Lawmakers had argued at the time that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok to spy on Americans and conduct covert influence operations.
If the US branch of TikTok is not sold by January 19 or the deadline is not extended, the app will likely be removed from Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store.
