TikTok is operating in the U.S. again after President Donald Trump granted the app a 75-day extension. Still, when TikTok’s future seemed bleak amid an hours-long ban, many found alternative sources for their short-form video cravings, such as Xiaohongshu, more commonly known in America as RedNote.
As of January 2025, Xiahongshu has around 350 million users globally and is one of China’s most popular social media apps. It was originally released in 2013 as a shopping forum.
Many students viewed the highly publicized TikTok hearings as a sign that our public officials are out of touch with technology and Gen Z culture. Students also seemed suspicious of the lobbying interests of U.S. companies such as Meta and Alphabet in taking out their biggest competitor in the short-form media economy.
Zackary Pazar, a third-year studying criminology, voiced his concerns about the aspect of lobbying in his decision to download Xiaohongshu.
“I saw Meta as a big reason why the TikTok ban was getting pushed a lot, and I know the algorithm is a little bit messed up for them, and I heard about RedNote from TikTok, and I checked it out,” Pazar said. “I was curious about it, and I preferred to go there over Meta.”
Pazar said the behaviors of the Supreme Court and other agendas were also another factor for him.
“I’m a criminology major, and I study a lot about the law, and so my knowledge and seeing how they were acting during that trial and seeing how dumb it was, I just realized what kind of agenda it was trying to push,” Pazar said. “That influenced my decision to try out RedNote.”
Congress enacted a law banning TikTok based on national security concerns, which was held up by the Supreme Court, fearing that the Chinese government would have access to the data of TikTok users in the United States and would use it maliciously. It also suspected that China controlled the TikTok algorithm, which made it so loved by users in the United States, and would be able to heavily influence American public opinion since social media is a leading source of news in today’s world.
Steven Greene, a professor of political science, said the ban was primarily based on national security concerns and the dissemination of information.
“It’s because TikTok has hundreds of millions of users, and that information is controlled by algorithms which are almost surely under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party,” Greene said.
However, Greene said the ban should not alarm users who are still using the platform after its revival.
“In terms of the people who should be concerned, potentially, would be the people who are electronically hosting TikTok servers and whatnot,” Greene said. “Basically, Google and Apple have decided it’s important for them to comply with the law as written, and so that’s why it is not in the app store. But they’re the ones who would have to worry, not your typical user.”
Chloe Loflin, a second-year studying graphic and experience design, has been using the app for years.
“I think the West doesn’t really understand what it is,” Loflin said. “They see it as a TikTok alternative, but really, it’s just used for whatever.”
RedNote may be viewed as a TikTok replacement for many Americans, but the app also includes shopping, direct messages and a Pinterest-style feed showing multiple videos playing at once. Similar to TikTok, RedNote has an algorithm focused on ensuring videos are relevant and enjoyable to viewers.
Loflin said Xiaohongshu has been a forum for cultural exchange between Americans and Chinese citizens.
On the app, videos aim to teach Americans basic Mandarin, and Chinese citizens look for help with their English homework. There have also been cases of Chinese citizens being shocked at aspects of the American system, such as the health care system or housing prices.
Loflin said she viewed a post with a Chinese user having a “crash out” over the cost of living in the U.S.
“She was like, ‘What do you mean it’s normal to work two jobs and barely pay rent,’” Loflin said.
Greene said that cultural exchange taking place can be seen as a double-edged sword.
“There is this cultural exchange that is very real, but at the same time, it is easy to say that China is our greatest geostrategic enemy,” Greene said, “Insofar as TikTok and RedNote certainly encourage and extend cultural exchange, that strengthens one level of the U.S.-China relationship, but at the same time, other levels of it are very strained.”
The translation of Xiaohongshu in Mandarin is “Little Red Book” — a reference to a book of quotations and speeches by Chinese Communist Party leader and founder Mao Zedong, espousing the virtues of Chinese Communism. Xiaohongshu may fall victim to the same concerns plaguing TikTok — Chinese Communist Party influence and data security.
Greene said the adoption of Xiaohongshu is about retaliation against authority, making the Chinese influence a selling point.
“The psychological term for this is reactance, which is, ‘You’re gonna tell me I can’t do something? Well watch this,’” Greene said. “Let’s be honest, it would make so much more sense for people to go to Instagram reels. ‘Oh yeah? You don’t want me viewing Chinese communist-influenced propaganda on my TikTok? Well, take that. And I want something so Chinese, it’s in Mandarin.’ It’s hard to not think that this is a significant portion of it.”
RedNote’s terms and conditions include both normal fare for social media companies, as well as more direct links to Chinese Communist Party influence — including a prohibition against “endangering national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
While TikTok is back, many plan to continue using RedNote due to the cultural exchange taking place and greater insulation from American influence and culture. But the app faces many of the same security concerns plaguing TikTok, leaving its future uncertain.
