With simply days remaining earlier than TikTok is banned within the U.S., TikTok’s American customers at the moment are scrambling for alternate options, with different Chinese language-owned apps now gaining traction, as potential new touchdown spots for enthusiastic TikTok customers.
The newest app within the highlight is Xiaohongshu (which interprets to “Purple Word” in English), an Instagram-like app which additionally helps video connection.
Xiaohongshu has grow to be a preferred social connector in China, now with over 300 million customers, whereas it additionally shares some related qualities to TikTok, significantly with respect to in-stream buying.
Which is evidently a lure to no less than a proportion of TikTok’s U.S. viewers, with Xiaohongshu and Lemon8, TikTok’s sister app, reaching the highest two spots of the U.S. app obtain charts on Monday.
Which clearly means that TikTok’s U.S. customers view them as potential alternate options, although neither is probably going a protected touchdown spot for former TikTok customers, if the U.S. sell-off invoice does certainly undergo.
As reported by Ars Technica, each Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 might be held to the identical rules as TikTok, below the identical invoice that’s set to drive TikTok out of the area.
As per Ars Technica:
“Beneath the Defending Individuals from Overseas Adversary Managed Functions Act that might drive TikTok’s sale or require a ban, any “international adversary managed” social media app with greater than 1 million month-to-month energetic customers might be banned. ByteDance and TikTok are each singled out by the regulation, that means any significant spike in U.S. customers on different ByteDance apps would possible set off scrutiny.”
So each Lemon8, which can also be owned by ByteDance, and Xiaohongshu would additionally fall below the identical laws, and would each even be banned too, in the event that they have been to achieve a crucial mass of U.S. customers.
So whereas they might seem to be potential alternate options proper now, that’s solely as a result of U.S. officers aren’t trying their method. But.
Although Lemon8, in addition to TikTok’s video enhancing app CapCut, might be minimize on the identical day as TikTok, if TikTok’s present Supreme Courtroom attraction fails, as a result of as the invoice states:
“The time period “international adversary managed software” means an internet site, desktop software, cellular software, or augmented or immersive know-how software that’s operated, immediately or not directly (together with by means of a mum or dad firm, subsidiary, or affiliate), by any of ByteDance, Ltd., TikTok, a subsidiary of or a successor to an entity recognized in clause (i) or (ii) that’s managed by a international adversary; or an entity owned or managed, immediately or not directly, by an entity recognized in clause (i), (ii), or (iii).”
So it’s fairly clear, any app owned by ByteDance might be topic to removing within the U.S. as soon as that is enacted.
In different phrases, whereas U.S. customers might imagine these are viable alternate options to TikTok, which can additionally provide one thing of the same really feel to TikTok, versus heading again to Instagram, their presence can also be on shaky floor.
So, no, Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 usually are not viable alternate options within the U.S., and the surge in downloads doesn’t point out that these would be the subsequent platform of focus for customers.
