โ In view of the speculation about TikTok’s future, many users in the US are turning to alternatives. One of these is REDnote, also known as Xiaohongshu, which is currently at the top of the US app store charts.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ฒ? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
The social media and lifestyle app combines short videos, images and e-commerce. Users can share product reviews or use live streams for shopping. Its design is reminiscent of a mixture of Pinterest and TikTok. Unlike TikTok, REDnote is operated directly by the Chinese company Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. without any international intermediaries. ๐
๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต
Founded in 2013 by Miranda Qu and Charlwin Mao, the app was initially aimed at shoppers and travellers. Today, it is used by over 300 million people worldwide every month, especially in China, where it competes with TikTok’s counterpart Douyin. REDnote has a stronger focus on business and commerce, which makes it particularly attractive for international brands.๐๏ธ
๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐
The current hype in the US could depend on TikTok’s future. If TikTok is blocked, REDnote could gain further popularity – at least in the short term. However, the app could also be targeted by the US government as it originates directly from China. ๐
Whether REDnote can actually replace TikTok as the market leader remains to be seen.๐ค
