Taipei, Taiwan – With a TikTok ban looming in the United States, young Americans are flocking to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu as “TikTok refugees” in search of a similar experience.

The app has risen to the top of the U.S. iOS and Google Play stores in recent days as users prepare to ban TikTok from Sunday on national security grounds unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests its ownership.

Chinese lifestyle app Lemon8 (also owned by ByteDance) has become the second most downloaded app.

Xiaohongshu, known as China’s Instagram, allows users to post photos, videos and text, and is known for its female user base.

Although Xiaohongshu has about 300 million monthly active users, its reach is still smaller than other popular apps in China, such as Sina Weibo and WeChat, which have more than 1.2 billion users.

There has been a surge of new users, some of whom refer to themselves as “TikTok refugees,” and the app’s Discover page is now filled with videos seeking tips on how to use the app’s new nickname in the U.S., “RedNote.”

“Hello. I don’t know what’s going on. Americans are coming here. I’m sorry if y’all hate us. I promise we’ll do our best,” a female user who called herself “Star404” posted on Tuesday said in the short film.

“Don’t worry, we’ll do fine. It’s way better than TikTok. It’s just not meta. Instagram is amazing and I can dig that. Facebook and YouTube clips, no footage. Never happened,” she said.

The irony of many users migrating from one Chinese-owned app to another has not gone unnoticed by observers such as Ryan Broderick, author of “Garbage Day,” Ryan Broderick is a newsletter covering the Internet.

“It’s definitely interesting that American teenagers are protesting against the looming TikTok ban by using a more Chinese app,” Broderick told Al Jazeera.

“Currently, RedNote doesn’t appear to be blocking Chinese content or requiring users to have a Chinese phone number, so it becomes an interesting cultural confusion on the app that never really happens on TikTok,” he said.

“Star404’s” post received more than 4,000 comments in 24 hours, most of which were from Chinese users welcoming her to the platform or jokingly talking about language challenges.

Another user “Fern” expressed gratitude for the influx of Chinese fans after joining the platform.

“We need to talk about you guys spreading my video about migrating to Rednote to 50,000 new followers in less than 24 hours. You guys are crazy,” she said.

“But thank you so much for all the support, I really appreciate it.”

While many Chinese Xiaohongshu users find it amusing, the surge in U.S. users has reportedly put the app’s owners in an awkward position.

Chinese media outlet PConline reported on Tuesday that Xiaohongshu employees had been instructed “not to discuss, not to promote, not to share” news about its new U.S. user base, citing sources within the company.

“This wave of traffic has become the Sword of Damocles hanging over Xiaohongshu. In fact, for Xiaohongshu, which has obtained this traffic inexplicably, the risks far outweigh the opportunities,” the report said.

These potential risks include regulatory complications.

Chinese social media platforms often require users to register with Chinese phone numbers, and content is subject to government censorship.

For this reason, Chinese tech companies often create domestic and foreign versions of their apps, said Lu Yiwen, a researcher at ChinaTalk, a newsletter and podcast focused on Chinese technology.

TikTok is the international version of Douyin, while Lemon8 is designed by ByteDance specifically for foreign markets.

Currently, Chinese and American users see the same content on Xiaohongshu.

However, some users reminded their American counterparts that the app has its own set of rules.

“Friendly reminder: Please do not mention politics, religion, drugs and other sensitive topics on Chinese social media platforms!!! Please abide by the one-China policy and reject pornography, gambling and drugs.” A user wrote under Star404’s post.

Another user said: “(You) can tell everything here except the history of (China) from 1949 to 2025.”

ChinaTalk’s Lu said it will be difficult for U.S. users to replicate their TikTok experience on the app, especially when it comes to monetizing content.

“Monetization models vary widely – XHS positions itself as a shopping platform, with most creators earning revenue through paid partnerships. This disparity makes it challenging for creators to fully shift their work and revenue streams to XHS in the short term Sex,” Lu told Al Jazeera.

Live streaming shopping is a very popular form of e-commerce in China and has grown rapidly on Xiaohongshu in recent months.

In the United States, many TikTok users still shop through links on Amazon or the shopping platform LTK (short for “Like to Know”).

Both Lu and Broderick expressed doubts that the influx of U.S. users would be sustained, given the differences between platforms and the fact that many users joined in protest.

Still, the move to Xiaohongshu should serve as a warning to the U.S. government and big tech companies, Broderick said.

“This is an interesting way to hopefully make American politicians aware that, whether they like it or not, Chinese apps are coming to the United States,” he said.

“And, again, it’s a great way to let Silicon Valley know that their product is stagnating, and no amount of federal ban is going to get young people excited about Meta products again.”