TikTok is pushing users to sister app Lemon8 ahead of a potential ban

As the TikTok ban could come into force at the end of the week, shortly after the intervention of the Supreme Court, another ByteDance-owned app has climbed up the rankings in the Apple App Store: Lemon8.

The app, which is no. 2 in the App Store, appears to be an amalgamation of several other popular social media platforms. It has images that can be uploaded as a single image or a carousel of images, like Instagram; videos that appeal to users’ specific emotions and interests, such as TikTok; and an interface that allows users to interact with different types of content at once, such as Pinterest.

“If those three apps got together and had a baby, it would be Lemon8,” said Jessica Maddox, associate professor of digital media technology at the University of Alabama.

The law only mentions TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, by name. However, it also says that any of ByteDance’s subsidiaries could be banned under the same law. That means a ban could be extended to Lemon8, but as of Monday, neither the company nor the US government had addressed its future.

On TikTok, it appears that ads for Lemon8 have risen to the ban. TikTok has used traditional ads on its platform encouraging users to download it. TikTok has also sent messages to its users suggesting they download Lemon8.

Some of TikTok’s main users post on the platform as if it were TikTok. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In short, it feels like Lemon8 is waiting in the wings to take over if TikTok is immediately useless after the ban takes effect on Sunday.

Here’s everything you need to know about Lemon8.

What is Lemon8?

Lemon8 is a “culture” platform, Maddox said, whose interface takes inspiration from a number of popular social media sites, including Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok.

When users open the app, the platform says it’s “powered by TikTok,” according to the login screen. It also asks users to log in with their TikTok accounts. Users are also asked to follow all the people they followed on TikTok who have accounts on Lemon8.

Users will also select their interests and what they would like to see before being taken to the main feed where they will see posts that include still images and videos. When users click on posts, they can see the comment sections, which are a crucial aspect of the inside jokes and humor on TikTok.

When was it released?

Lemon8 debuted in the US and UK in February 2023. It was first released in Japan in May 2020. There it was known as Sharee.

About a month after its release in the US, Lemon8 entered the list of the 10 most downloaded apps in the Apple App Store, according to report then. Usage surged after Congress grilled TikTok chief Shou Chew about the platform’s security.

What kind of content is there on the platform?

When people create accounts on Lemon8, they are asked to select their interests, which range from lifestyle and food to video games, music and movies.

Some of the content appears to be copy-pasted from TikTok. For example, influencer Jasmine Chiswelll, who became popular on TikTok for her fashion content and Marilyn Monroe-like style, posted a video on Lemon8 sharing “100 years of LIPSTICKS” in which she shared swatches of nude lipsticks.

Chiswell shared the same video in 2023 on TikTok, where it was liked 1.5 million times. On Lemon8, it was liked less than 10,000 times.

Users can also share photos. While TikTok has become a place where users can share stills and where massive trends have grown around the interface, stills shared without music and only text feel more akin to content displayed on Instagram than on TikTok.

Instead of one piece of content at a time, like on TikTok’s “For You” page or Instagram’s main feed, users see two rows of content that they have to select to view. The interface is similar to the TikTok search function. It also looks like the mobile version of Pinterest.

Could Lemon8 Be Banned Under The New Law Banning TikTok?

The short answer is: Yes.

So says Eric Goldman, associate dean for research, law professor and co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law.

Goldman said the law doesn’t allow for much wiggle room based on the way it’s written.

“As long as ByteDance is owned by a ‘foreign adversary’ as defined in the statute, then its subsidiaries will be equally governed by the rules, Goldman said. “So I don’t see it as a really close case.”

He added: “I have a problem with the ban. I have a problem with its scope, but just as a matter of statutory interpretation, it doesn’t really seem that objectionable.”

Goldman said the law also allows a president to designate that an app is owned by a so-called foreign adversary and would therefore be subject to the same legal challenges as TikTok, which include being banned.

But just because it can be banned doesn’t mean it necessarily will be banned.

How many people use Lemon8?

Data from research firm SimilarWeb showed that Lemon8 had just over 1 million daily active users in the US, according to Associated Press. It had 12.5 million global monthly active users in December, the AP reported.

Maddox, who has been on the app since last year, said she has noticed an influx of users recently.

“I’ve been getting messages from dozens of people every few days who follow me on Lemon8,” she said. “There’s a big push over there now, and I wonder if that’s likely to change what the algorithms are pushing.”

Because Lemon8’s user base is significantly smaller than TikTok’s, it’s possible that ByteDance is hoping the app will slip past potential censors unnoticed.