As TikTok Ban Nears, Regular Users Flock to Other Chinese Social Media Apps

Others TikTok users without waiting until ban coming up on January 19 to try other short video sharing apps, but instead Measuresocial networking sites or Miscellaneousare rushing to other Chinese mobile apps.

Two Chinese company programs — Xiaohongshu (which means “little red notebook” and is also called RedNote) and Lemon8, owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance – are leading the free download charts in the US. for iPhone and Android users. RedNote is owned by Xingyin Information Technology, a private enterprise based in Shanghai.

Like Jen Hamiltonanother popular TikTok user, explained in the videothe practice of downloading Chinese apps is a way of protesting the TikTok ban in the US. “You don’t want the Chinese to have our most sensitive data? We will stop directly,” Hamilton said. “I don’t care.”

Read more: 3 Things You Should Do Before TikTok Bans On January 19

RedNote has been compared to a cross between Pinterest and Instagram, focusing on short life. Lemon8, a sister app to TikTok, also has a Pinterest-like decorations but focuses on videos about lifestyle topics such as food, housing and health.

Lawmakers have complained for years that TikTok, which has 170 million users in the US, poses a national security threat linked to privacy threats. Last year, a newly enacted federal law required TikTok find a buyer from the US or closed, with a deadline of Sunday, Jan. 19. The lawyers representing TIkTok said that the matter is a free matter. The US Supreme Court is expected in the next few days a decision to follow the law.

It is unclear how the ban on TikTok, if the law is upheld, will affect access to other apps from Chinese companies including RedNote and Lemon8. This did not stop Hamilton and other users from start learning Chinese languages ​​are directing friends to their profile over it An alternative to TikTok platform. Language learning program Duolingo announced on Jan. 15 that there is a 216% increase in Mandarin students compared to last year.

Alternatives to TikTok which appear to be increasing in the app charts include short video programs Flip and Clapper, both based in the US. Each is in the top five free apps in the Apple App Store.