Taipei, Taiwan – As TikTok’s ban in the United States approaches, young Americans are flocking to the Chinese social media platform Xiao Hongshu as “TikTok refugees” in search of a similar experience.

The app has risen to number one on the iOS and Google Play stores in the US in recent days as users prepare to ban TikTok on national security grounds starting Sunday unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests its ownership.

Chinese lifestyle app Lemon8, also owned by ByteDance, ranked second most downloaded app.

The Xiaohongshu app, which has been described as China’s answer to Instagram, allows users to post photos, videos and texts, and is known for its heavy female user base.

Although Xiaohongshu has about 300 million monthly active users, it is smaller than the scale of other popular apps in China, such as Sina Weibo and WeChat, which have more than 1.2 billion users.

The surge in new users, some of whom describe themselves as “TikTok refugees,” has flooded the app’s “Discover” page with videos looking for tips on how to use “RedNote,” the app’s new nickname in the United States.

“Hey. I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Americans are coming here. So sorry if you all hate us. I promise we will do our best,” a user calling herself “Star404” said in a short video posted on Tuesday.

“Don’t worry, we’ll do a great job. This is so much better than TikTok. Just not dead. Instagram reels, I can kind of dig it. Facebook and YouTube pants, no shot. It never happens,” she said.

The irony of so many users jumping from one Chinese-owned app to another has not escaped observers like Ryan Broderick, author of Garbage Day, a newsletter covering the Internet.

“It’s definitely funny that American teens are protesting the impending TikTok ban with a more culturally Chinese app,” Broderick told Al Jazeera.

“Right now, RedNote doesn’t appear to isolate Chinese content or require users to have a Chinese phone number, so it’s turned into a kind of fun cultural chaos on the app, an experience that never happened on TikTok.” He said.

Star404’s post garnered more than 4,000 comments within 24 hours, most of them from Chinese users welcoming her to the platform or joking about the language challenges.

Another user named “Fern” expressed her gratitude for the flood of Chinese followers who came her way after she joined the platform.

“We need to talk about you guys blowing up my video about going to Rednote to 50,000 new followers in less than 24 hours. You guys are crazy,” she said.

“But thank you so much for all the support, I really appreciate it.”

While this is amusing to many Chinese Xiaohongshu users, the increase in the number of American users has put the app owner in an awkward position.

Chinese media outlet PConline reported on Tuesday that Xiaohongshu employees were instructed “not to discuss, not to promote or share” news related to the new US user base, citing sources within the company.

“This wave of traffic has become like the Sword of Damocles hanging over Xiao Hongshu’s head. In fact, for Xiaohongshu, who inexplicably received this traffic, the risks far outweigh the opportunities.

These potential risks include regulatory complexities.

Chinese social media platforms typically require users to register with a Chinese phone number, while content is subject to government censorship.

For this reason, Chinese tech companies often create both domestic and foreign versions of their apps, said Yuen Lu, a researcher at ChinaTalk, a newsletter and podcast focused on Chinese technology.

TikTok is an international version of Douyin, while Lemon8 is specially designed by ByteDance for the overseas market.

Currently, Chinese and American users see the same content on Xiaohongshu.

However, some users have reminded their American counterparts that the app comes with its own set of rules.

“Friendly reminder: On Chinese social media platforms, please do not mention sensitive topics such as politics, religion and drugs!!! “Please adhere to the One China policy and reject pornography, gambling and drugs,” one user wrote under the Star404 post.

“[You] I could say everything here, except history [of China] “From 1949 to 2025,” another user said.

ChinaTalk’s Lu said American users will have a hard time replicating their TikTok experience on the app — especially when it comes to monetizing content.

“The monetization models are very different – ​​with XHS positioning itself as a shopping platform, with most creators generating revenue through paid partnerships. This difference makes it difficult for creators to move their entire work and income streams to XHS in the short term,” Lu told Al Jazeera.

Live streaming shopping, a very popular form of e-commerce in China, has taken off in Xiahongshu in recent months.

In the United States, many TikTok users still shop through links to Amazon or the LTK shopping platform, short for “Like to Know.”

Both Lu and Broderick expressed doubts about the continued influx of American users due to differences between the platforms and the fact that many users joined as an act of protest.

However, Broderick said Xiao Hongshu’s migration should serve as a warning to the US government and big tech companies.

“It’s a funny way to hopefully make American politicians realize that Chinese apps are coming to the United States whether they like it or not,” he said.

“Likewise, it’s a good way to let Silicon Valley know that its products are in the doldrums and that no amount of federal bans will get young people excited about meta products again.”