Did you know TikTok? Here is RedNote, the new arrival in social networks. Also of Chinese origin, it is enjoying flourishing success in the United States, where it is number one of the most downloaded apps. In Europe, its influence is growing at breakneck speed.
In 2025, we no longer go on Instagram, Snapchat and even less on Facebook. Also finished posting his daily BeReal and falling asleep on TikTok. The new app of the year is called Xiaohongshu (or “RedNote” for non-mandarins) and has been very successful in recent days.
Across the Atlantic, Xiaohongshu / RedNote is at the top of the most downloaded free applications in the App Store. In France, it is number 3. A success that the Chinese social network owes to its counterpart, TikTok. Indeed, faced with the threat of a ban on the platform in the United States, thousands of Americans left TikTok to join RedNote. A massive exodus which nevertheless raises some questions.
RedNote: what exactly is it?
Founded in 2013, the app is developed by Shanghai-based company Xingin Information Technology. With nearly 300 million users, according to a report from research firm Qian Gua, the specificity of Xiaohongshu / RedNote lies in its interface entirely in Mandarin and focused on sharing lifestyle, travel, fashion and beauty content. CNN and the New York Times have given him the nickname“Chinese Instagram” the resemblance with the Meta application may be surprising.
However, RedNote differs from other social networks in its algorithm. According to the details of 20 Minutes, it favors content related to users’ interests rather than highlighting the most popular content. For the rest, the sharing of photos and videos is obviously present, as is the possibility of finding the latest trends of the moment. On the other hand, where the application stands out is through its link with online commerce, like what the giant Temu already does.
RedNote: why worry about such popularity?
After such a presentation and a few Mandarin lessons, what would stop you from joining the new app of the moment? Well, be aware that if you decide to create a RedNote profile, part of your data is collected and sent to the owner company for tracking purposes. It is in particular what a user revealed on Xspecifying that the phone number, location, identifier and fingerprint of the device are collected by the social network. On a more personal side, the language, time zone, age, gender given at registration, IP address or even the country of the user are also known by RedNote, once registered.
Of course, this type of information collection is not new and is already taking place on various applications, particularly in France. Where the situation is different with RedNote is that we can suspect, as with TikTok, that the data collected is then transmitted to the Chinese government. Finally, for the record and because you are probably wondering why RedNote has this nickname. This is simply because Xiaohongshu means “little red book” in Mandarin.