What Do We Really Need to Know About the TikTok Users in China? The Case of Red Note, Lemon8 and Xiaohongshu

As of this writing, TikTok users are not anticipating a decision by the Supreme Court on the company’s future.

Clapper, Flip, and Lemon8 have risen to the top of the app store charts over the last few days. The most popular of them all, Xiaohongshu, has made the biggest impression on its over 700,000 new users.

The exodus proves how pointless the effort to protect Americans from a “dangerous” app, which has taken more than five years, has truly been. The effort appears to have made things worse for those in power.

The people’s loss is a win for the US government because they haven’t adequately convinced citizens that TikTok needs to go. Sure, the app has Americans’ data—as do most apps created right here in the US. Is it a security risk? The vibe seems to be “so what.” Americans aren’t just protesting the ban. They’re revolting, lining up to hand off their data to Chinese companies. Xiaohongshu, otherwise known as RedNote, has soared to the top of the charts; close on its heels is another app owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, Lemon8.

If anything, the attempt to ban TikTok has inspired more interest in China among Americans than anything else. A lot of TikTok users are learning a language by talking with Chinese Xiaohongshu users or using language learning apps.

“Started learning in Duolingo and from creators on Red Note [or Xiaohongshu],” one TikTok user wrote to me. “Even added the Chinese keyboard option on my phone.”

A video about a comedian who wouldn’t move to China unless you were sending a Data Care package to the US government ever again

The comedian says she would like to thank you for the good times she had if they no longer get to hang out. You looked out for me and sent me tarot readers who told me that he was not good for me. In a different video, a TikToker named Rose, walks down the snowy sidewalk with a suitcase in his hand. I would rather move to China than use social media, according to the text.

TikTok user aalamode’s handwriting loops across a manila envelope addressed to the president of China. A video reads, in part: “Sending a Data Care package because he’s taken better care of me than the US government ever has.” The camera cuts to a young woman swabbing the inside of her cheek and ripping out a few strands of dark hair before it pans to a shot of her personal effects: passport with social security card tucked inside, a list of medications, a handwritten note reading “My Passwords (For Xi’s eyes only),” baby photos.