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On the heels of TikTok looming With its ownership in the U.S. closed on January 19 (unless the Supreme Court intervenes), it looks like another Chinese app is getting some attention. American users are flocking to Chinese short-form video apps Xiaohongshu (known as RedNote in English). The app rose to the number 1 spot for free apps in the US App Store today. It is the top social networking app among all free iPhone apps.
Several TikTok creators are promoting Xiaohongshu on their accounts, encouraging their followers to convert to the platform. Influencers may not have a crystal ball to predict whether TikTok will issue a ban, but Xiaohongshu gives them a way to hedge their social bets.
(We’re digging up the install numbers and will update this post with more data as we get it.)
Why Xiaohongshu?
Xiaohongshu originally launched back in 2013, and it hits a lot of the right notes for creators looking for a TikTok alternative: it has a layout that’s similar to Pinterest; It is commonly thought of as China’s answer to Instagram; And critically it boasts a number of social shopping features.
And it’s also on a strong, viral trajectory. After years of steady growth, Xiaohongshu grew among younger Chinese consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic. It now boasts 300 million monthly active users; 79% of them are women. And for now it’s the top app in the US
Surprisingly, the startup has attracted the attention of investors. To date, it has raised around $917 million in venture funding with backers such as Tencent, Alibaba, ZhenFund, DST, HongShan (formerly Sequoia China) and 13 others. It is known to be valuable $17 billion 2024 after sale of secondary shares.
According to a report from BloombergThe app is projected to grow its profits to $1 billion in 2024 (it had $1 billion in sales in the quarter last year, per This is the FT report), ahead of a potential IPO. This growth not only signifies the potential of the app but also the promising opportunities it can bring to its creators.
It is unclear whether Xiaohongshu will maintain the interest it is now receiving. And if it did, it remains to be seen what that might mean in terms of investigations by US authorities, as Xiaohongshu not only hails from China but appears to have no pretensions to being an operative in the US.
Meanwhile, it’s notable that TikTok users aren’t recommending apps from the country’s biggest rival, TikTok, which is going through its own drama. Recently Meta announcement Stable, content moderation policies for social apps including Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp will ease, stopping third-party data-checking in the process — raise concerns About the potential spread of hateful content and misinformation on its platform.
