The Social media users in the United states of America are flocking to the chinese application ‘RedNote’ after Washington banned Tiktok in the country.
The RedNote known by its name as “Xiaohongshu” has been thrust into the limelight after more than half a million TikTok users recently joined the platform in protest against a likely imminent ban on the short video app in the United States.
Known by its Chinese name “Xiaohongshu” in China, the platform is a popular lifestyle app where users document their lives and post recommendations.
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The Xiaohongshu has been the most downloaded free app on Apple’s app store in the U.S. since Tuesday.
Analysis by Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm, showed the platform’s downloads in the U.S. had increased 200% year-on-year and seen a 194% uptick since last week.
QR Code Generator, a firm that provides statistics on trends online, said there had been a 4,900% increase in searches on Google for Xiaohongshu in the U.S. on Monday alone.
The application tagged as a localised adaptation of Instagram in China. Its Chinese name Xiaohongshu translates to “Little Red Book” in English, a phrase which traditionally refers to a collection of sayings by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong.
It is widely regarded as the go-to search engine these days in China for recommendations and the most popular topics on the app span beauty, fashion, travel and food.
Its users in China are mostly young and female.
Its interface is different from TikTok or Instagram in that it displays multiple posts – either video, photos or longer-form texts – simultaneously.
Users are able to engage in discussions, share their posts, call each other and purchase products.
The platform has recently been making a big push into livestreaming sales.
As of 2023, it had more than 300 million monthly active users, according to Chinese media reports.