Philly content creators are migrating to RedNote as a TikTok ban looms. What exactly is it?

As TikTok’s days appear to dwindle in the United States, a chunk of the platform’s audience is flocking to the Chinese social media app, Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote. The migration has pushed the platform to the top of U.S. app download charts.

Some of the “TikTok refugees,” as they call themselves, say they’re choosing the Chinese app — rather than increasing their presence on apps owned by U.S. companies — in protest of the TikTok ban, which the Supreme Court upheld Friday unless the platform divests from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

» READ MORE: Philly content creators uncertain about the future after Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

In the past weeks, as the likelihood of a ban became stronger, masses of TikTok users began creating accounts on Xiaohongshu and using hashtags on their content like #tiktokrefugee or #tiktok on their posts.

So what exactly is RedNote and who is on there?

The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech.

TikTok’s sale does not appear imminent. Although experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users’ phones once the law takes effect Sunday, TikTok said it would proactively shut down the platform in the United States by the deadline.

New users also won’t be able to download the app nor update it, eventually rendering the app unworkable, the Justice Department said in court filings.

President-elect Donald Trump and TikTok CEO Shou Chew said Friday in response to the Supreme Court’s decision that they were working on a solution.

“Rest assured we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery, as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come,” Chew said in a TikTok. “Thank you. More to come.”

» READ MORE: From 2023: The U.S. is considering a TikTok ban. Philadelphia content creators don’t care.

Xiaohongshu, which in English means Little Red Book, is a Chinese social media app that combines e-commerce, short video, and posting functions.

The app has gained traction in China and countries with a Chinese diaspora such as Malaysia and Taiwan in recent years, racking up 300 million monthly active users. The majority are young women who use it as a de-facto search engine for product, travel and restaurant recommendations, as well as makeup and skincare tutorials.

Several celebrities, including Cardi B, Selena Gomez, and Kyle MacLachlan, have a presence on the platform.

“It’s like if TikTok and Pinterest combined,” said Cass Matthews, who has been posting Philly restaurant and activity recommendations to TikTok since 2020 under the username @cass_andthecity.

She rushed to create a RedNote account earlier this week to claim the same username and plans to recycle her greatest hits from TikTok until she knows whether RedNote is sticking around.

Matthews said her RedNote explore page is a mix of generic lifestyle content for women and people marveling in Mandarin about the influx of American users. Until the Supreme Court’s decision, Matthews said she wasn’t sure how much time she wanted to devote to the platform.

“As long as TikTok is still here, I will be spending more time on TikTok.” said Matthews, who also maintains an active presence on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and YouTube. “To keep up with all these platforms is time-consuming.”

RedNote is owned by Miranda Qu Fang and Charlwin Mao, who founded the platform in 2013 as a collection of shopping guides before it evolved into the major social media app it is today.

Fang is now RedNote’s president and Mao its CEO.

The #tiktokrefugee topic has racked up over 160,000 posts on Xiaohongshu, including many videos of American users introducing themselves and asking for tips on how to navigate the app.

The nickname has become a way for foreign newcomers, especially Americans, to identify themselves.

Some say yes.

Alex Pearlman (@pearlmania500), the full-time content creator and comedian based out of the Philadelphia suburbs who has amassed 2.7 million followers on TikTok, said he joined RedNote Monday.

“I really made the account as a joke because there’s no way that either the U.S. government or China is going to allow this connection to stay open,” he said. “It’s an act of protest to remind Washington that Americans don’t like being told we can’t do something.”

Across the platform, Americans and Chinese users have swapped jokes about topics they say their respective governments don’t want civilians talking about.

“Someone on RedNote asked if it’s true that minimum wage hasn’t been increased in 16 years or if it was just their government’s propaganda,” one viral TikTok post said. A separate viral TikTok about RedNote noted “someone in the comments of RedNote asked me if we really had to pay for an ambulance in America or if that was just their government’s propaganda.”

Other users made jokes like “Hi, I am your Chinese spy. Show me your cute dog and cat photos.”

The cultural exchange has resulted in creators using both Chinese and English captions in their videos.

Most of Philadelphia’s biggest TikTok accounts — our sports teams, the Kelce family, Sixers rookie Jared McCain, and Philles All-Star Bryce Harper included — have yet to create accounts on RedNote, while Philly’s small and midsize content creators are still finding their footing.

Full-time environmental, social, and governance consultant Jared Fink (@jacobdoesphilly) built a modest 17,500 following on TikTok when he started posting videos “as an excuse to explore Philly’s food scene” in 2023 after moving here from New York City.

Fink made a RedNote account this week at the urging of a follower. So far, he has only reposted an explainer on Philly-style pretzels to his audience of five.

“TikTok is so hyperlocal. It allows me to get a great read of what’s going in Philadelphia — like my girlfriend only uses Instagram Reels and I’m always seeing local Philly stuff like three days before she is,” Fink said. “I don’t know how many Philadelphians are actually on RedNote yet.”

Other food creators such as @phillyfoodladies and @bon_nappetit are also experimenting on the app with recycled content, while other local influencers are doubling down on YouTube and Instagram — even if they don’t want to.

“You can’t escape Instagram or Facebook at this point if you want to do something on social media,” said Cierra Williams (@cierrarene), 29, who garnered nearly 179,000 TikTok followers after calling out Keke Palmer’s baby daddy for being just another embarrassing Philly man.

Williams said she makes enough on TikTok “to pay any bill you can think of,” and made a RedNote despite concerns that she won’t be able to monetize on it without that built-in Philly audience.

Pearlman said he has been enjoying RedNote content but doesn’t have an audience on the platform. And he is not convinced it will ever become a proper replacement for TikTok.

“It’s not possible for RedNote to recapture TikTok because TikTok took off during the pandemic. It got ingrained in our culture during an intense trauma bonding moment that we were all going through in 2020,” Pearlman said. “RedNote was designed so the Chinese diaspora could share travel tips, snack reviews, and pet videos with their relatives in China.”