Tiktokers were dreading this day: the closure of the platform is imminent in the United States, and the platform should no longer be usable from January 19, according to several American media. From Sunday therefore, users will no longer be able to download the application, and those already in possession of them on their smartphone will be automatically directed to a message relating to the new legislative provisions imposed by the American Congress. Enough to create panic among content creators. But these “TikTok refugees”, as they call themselves, will not stay without a platform for long: a virtual rush is already underway towards a Chinese application with similar functionalities.
Xiaohongshu, or “RedNote” in English, already claims more than 300 million monthly users (compared to just over 1.5 billion monthly users at TikTok in 2024 on average). A figure that has been growing and internationalizing in recent weeks, while ex-tiktokers have been flocking. “Unsurprisingly, the start-up has also attracted the attention of investors,” reports the specialized information site TechCrunch. Some $917 million has already been raised in venture capital, with backers such as Tencent, Alibaba, ZhenFund, DST, and around fifteen other investors. “It would have been valued at $17 billion following a secondary sale of shares in 2024,” says the site.
An app appreciated for its algorithm… but affected by censorship
Bathed in new popularity, RedNote is particularly attractive thanks to its algorithm which seems to favor the interests of each user rather than popular content, which reduces the monopoly that influencers can benefit from on other platforms. Capitalizing on the capabilities of the population it wishes to shelter, RedNote has benefited from valuable help: that of content creators paid to promote it directly on the platform of its competitor TikTok, notes TechCrunch, sharing among other things tutorials of use in English. The strategy is bearing fruit: in January, Redonne rose to first place among the most downloaded free applications on the American Apple Story.
It could nevertheless encounter several problems, if it becomes popular in the United States, the Chinese platform was not created for an English-speaking audience and is not yet available in an international version. Created by the company Xingin Information Technology, it also remains under the yoke of Chinese censorship, underlines the Washington Post. Certain conversations related to sensitive subjects, such as President Xi Jinping’s nicknames, may thus be banned. Strict rules that could make it difficult to adapt RedNote to an American or international population.