FOX Business’ Lydia Hu joins ‘Varney & Co.’ reporting on the latest news from the TikTok ban as users and creators prepare for a possible ban.
The impending ban on TikTok in the US has caused a mass exodus of “refugee” content creators to other social platforms – and a Chinese app named after Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book” is proving to be very popular.
Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu, nicknamed RedNote in the US, topped the app store’s free apps category this week as social media users fled TikTok in anticipation of its shutdown on Sunday, Jan. 20.
In just two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Xiaohongshu, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Downloads of RedNote in the US rose more than 200% year-over-year this week, and 194% from last week, according to estimates by app data research firm Sensor Tower, the report said.
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The TikTok logo can be seen in this stock photo taken in Warsaw, Poland. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
But with that surge in popularity comes a stark warning from one of the top China hawks in Congress, who fears the app’s apparent ties to China could put US users at risk.
“Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book contributed to the transformation of the Communist culture in China which led to the tragic deaths of tens of millions of Chinese citizens. Today, the Chinese app of the same name wants to be the next TikTok – complete with Chinese control,” House. Select Committee on CCP Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., told Fox Business.
What is RedNote?
The app store description calls Xiahongshu “a lifestyle platform that encourages people to discover and connect with a variety of different lifestyles.” The app claims to have more than 300 million daily users and appears to function similarly to Instagram or Pinterest, with users able to post text, images or short-form video content.
Founded as a startup hub in 2013, Xiahongshu is now widely regarded as China’s go-to search engine for recommendations on popular topics ranging from beauty, fashion, travel and food, according to Reuters.
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A pair of Chinese-made social media apps, Xiaohongshu and Lemon8, have taken the top two spots on Apple’s iPhone download charts in the US as users look for alternatives to TikTok ahead of an imminent ban. (Raul Ariano/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Users can participate in discussions, share each other’s posts, call each other and make purchases. The platform recently made a big push in live streaming sales.
There is no international version of the app, which is in Mandarin. It is owned and operated by Xingyin Information Technology, a Chinese company. Although users have the option to change the language of the app, most of the content is in Mandarin.
Xiahongshu was founded by Miranda Qu, its current president, and Charlwin Mao, its CEO, in 2013 in Shanghai. Originally called “The Hong Kong Shopping Guide,” it was designed for Chinese tourists looking for recommendations outside the mainland, according to Reuters.
Security Concerns
TikTok on Friday said its platform would “go dark” on Sunday after the US Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan rule passed last year that required Chinese parent company ByteDance to split the app, citing its ties to the CCP.
Lawmakers have raised national security concerns that China could use the app to download user data or push certain government-sponsored content to US users.
Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., leaves the Capitol Hill Club after the House Republican Conference Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Moolenaar raised similar concerns about RedNote and suggested that the law used to force ByteDance to part with TikTok could be applied in the same way to platform owners.
“Parents and social media creators should be aware that the CCP is using PRC-based applications to spy and monitor Americans. The good news is that President Trump has the authority under the TikTok bill to force the takedown of some CCP-controlled apps that pose a national security risk. So,” she said.
Xiahongshu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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TikTok content creators who made the jump to Xiahongshu have warned other US users to be aware of the platform’s strict content moderation policies and China’s censorship.
“This is for my fellow TikTok and American refugees, behave yourself on this app! You better behave because everyone in China is being kind to us as we collect their cutesy tootsy app because our government sucks,” an American user named “Savannah” posted on Wednesday , reports CBS News.
If the complaint about TikTok is that it collects too much user data, Xiahongshu has the same problem and worse.
The TikTok and RedNote apps are seen in this photo taken on January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
RedNote’s privacy policy states that the platform collects a large amount of data that includes sensitive information such as users’ location, web address, browsing habits and more, Forbes reports.
The terms and conditions are written in Mandarin and English users had difficulty interpreting them.
Additionally, Xiahongshu is subject to the same Chinese data laws as TikTok, which would give CCP authorities access to user data but without the privacy protections required by US law.
“The platform collects extensive personal data, including location, browsing activity, and device-specific information such as IP addresses. It can also share this data with third-party service providers or government authorities, raising concerns about user privacy,” Adrianus Warmenhoven, the cybersecurity. expert at NordVPN, told Forbes.
However, some TikTok users dismissed these concerns. Lifestyle content creator Kayla Murphy, who has more than 20,000 followers on TikTok, told CT Insider she’s not concerned about Chinese data collection.
“Myself, I’m not worried. I live an honest and open life, and I don’t feel like I’m hiding anything. If the Chinese or US governments want to know that I’m a 28-year-old woman who loves to walk, eat, and my cat, Wednesday, so be it,” said Murphy. “My biggest concern is with systemic issues like health care and the economy.”
Social media expert Ariadna Jacob discusses how TikTok users are turning to the Chinese app, ‘Rednote,’ in response to ‘The Bottom Line.’
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Murphy said he uses Google Translate to add Mandarin captions to his videos on RedNote so that users in China can follow his content.
“One of my favorite texts, with my cat, Wednesday, has a simple introduction in English and Chinese,” Murphy told the outlet. “Since a lot of my content focuses on visual storytelling – like travel and lifestyle – I think it will naturally transcend language barriers.”
Murphy said he wouldn’t be surprised if RedNote “becomes the next victim in the US government’s war on social media.”
“It sounds like a game of whack-a-mole,” he said, “but young people will always find a way to adapt.”
Fox Business Network’s Chase Williams and Reuters contributed to this report.
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