US TikTok Users Flock Chinese Social Apps in a Bid to Evade Ban Risk
Apple’s iPhone download charts show that two Chinese social apps are now the most downloaded in the US. Users turned to Lemon8 and Xiaohongshu apps as they sought alternatives to mitigate the TikTok ban risk, Yahoo Finance reported.
The rush to download Chinese apps is proof that the over 170 million TikTok users in the US are ready and willing to explore alternatives.
Shrinking Timeline
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has until January 19 to get a US buyer if it wants to continue operating in the US. The Supreme Court, which is set to rule on the TikTok ban suit, is unlikely to oppose the legislation that imposed this condition.
Unless the incoming President Donald Trump reverses this policy, TikTok’s future remains uncertain. Last month, Trump met with the TikTok CEO. After the meeting, he said he had a warm spot for the social media app. ByteDance will be in breach of US law in a week if it does not find a local buyer. Officials from China are reportedly considering the option of selling US TikTok operations to X owner Elon Musk.
Such a plan would see Musk oversee both X and TikTok’s business in the US. However, it’s still unclear whether ByteDance is aware of the plans by the Chinese government and the involvement of Musk in the discussions.
But even as ByteDance struggles to beat the China TikTok ban in the US, It’s not in doubt that the implications of the TikTok ban appear to favor China more. Xiaohongshu, which is an Instagram-like app, was the most downloaded free application on Apple’s iOS platform. For the first time, the social app ranked among the top app downloads on Google Play.
“The ones benefiting from traffic from the TikTok ban are still Chinese apps,” Allen Zhu, MD at GSR Ventures posted on WeChat.
When joining the app, most new users tagged themselves as ‘TikTok Refugees’. The #tiktokrefugee attracted over 25 million views this week alone.
Highly Popular
Xiaohongshu, whose name is translated ‘Little Red Book’ is among the most popular apps in China’s internet space. It comes with an English version. However, it is mostly used by Chinese communities abroad. Launched in 2013, the app quickly transformed from a shopping guide to a community within a few years. As it grew, Xiaohongshu attracted investments from Tencent, Alibaba, and Temasek holdings.
Today, the Shanghai-based startup has built a huge army of influencers through cash incentives. The popularity of the Xiaohongshu app in China inspired the development of alternative platforms like Lemon8.
Xiaohongshu’s popularity in the US came as a surprise to many in the social media industry. Those familiar with the app use it as a live digital marketplace as well as a repository for videos. Last week, downloads for the Lemon8 app tripled across Android and iOS platforms.
Market Reaction
Chinese stocks that are linked to the Xiaohongshu gained on January 14, 2025. These include firms that provide digital marketing services and design ads. They also include consumer brands that sell their wares on the social media platform. Last year, the startup was on the path to double its net profit.
