Why are millions flocking to a Chinese app that could be banned like TikTok?

As TikTok faces a complete shutdown in the US this Sunday, millions of Americans are making a seemingly counterintuitive choice — migrating to RedNote, another Chinese-owned social media platform that could face similar regulatory scrutiny leading to its ban.

As a Utah-based user told BBC“I don’t have anything that China doesn’t have, and if they want my data that bad, they can have it.” That stance, combined with the platform’s rapid growth, sets the stage for what could be the next big battle over social media regulation in the United States.

What is RedNote and why are millions of Americans joining it?

The platform, known as Xiaohongshu in China, has seen an unprecedented increase in US adoption. According to the research firm Similar webRedNote gained nearly 3 million US users in a single day, rising from fewer than 700,000 daily active users to approximately 3.4 million. This dramatic influx has propelled the app to the top spot in Apple’s US App Store, indicating a remarkable shift in the US social media landscape.

What makes this exodus particularly striking is its apparent contradiction — Americans are responding to a ban meant to protect them from potential Chinese data collection by voluntarily joining another Chinese platform. Self-proclaimed “TikTok refugees” flood RedNote with introductory posts and engage in cultural exchanges with Chinese users, creating an unprecedented bridge between American and Chinese social media users.

Founded in 2013, the platform combines elements of Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok, offering a lifestyle-focused environment where over 300 million monthly users share their experiences. Although significantly smaller than TikTok’s 170 million American user base, RedNote has quickly become a cultural phenomenon, with American users and Chinese hosts engaging in everything from language exchanges to homework help.

Will RedNote also be banned in the US?

Despite RedNote’s rise in popularity, cybersecurity experts and US officials are already raising concerns about this migration. According to Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at Nord VPN, RedNote may actually pose greater risks than TikTok. “RedNote was never intended for outside the Chinese market. All data sharing and all servers to which the data is shared are in China,” said Warmenhoven CBS Newsand notes that this places the data outside of US government oversight.

A US official also told CBS News that RedNote could face the same regulatory scrutiny as TikTok Protecting Americans from Foreign Counterintelligence Controlled Applications Act. The law applies to any platform that meets specific criteria — with more than 1 million monthly users, allows content sharing and is controlled by a company in a designated foreign adversary country such as China.

In terms of content control and censorship, RedNote’s moderation policies seem stricter than TikTok’s. CBS News’ analysis found that searches for terms like “Xi Jinping” and “Free Hong Kong” return no results, while discussions of Taiwan must conform to Beijing’s political narrative. The platform is reportedly scaling up its content moderation and advertising positions for English content reviewers in mainland China.

The timing of this transition adds another layer of complexity. President-elect Donald Trump, who previously tried to ban TikTok during his first term, has recently expressed opposition to the current ban. His transition team has not yet commented on whether his administration might designate RedNote as a national security threat under the same legislation.

Looking ahead

As Sunday’s deadline approaches, the future remains uncertain for both TikTok and RedNote in the US market. The current migration highlights a fascinating paradox in digital platform regulation — efforts to protect American users from potential Chinese government influence have, at least temporarily, led to increased engagement with Chinese social media.

For now, millions of Americans seem to accept these risks, prioritizing the digital community over data privacy concerns.