American high school student Venus Rios sparked a flurry of chatter when she posted this week on Chinese social media platform XiaohongshuiXiaohongshuXiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book” in Chinese, is a lifestyle e-commerce and social media platform.READ MORE, writing in Chinese characters. 

“Hi Chinese netizens! I am American, if you need help with your English homework, please tell me!” Within a day, the 17-year-old had received nearly 2,000 comments.

Rios is among the thousands of “TikTok refugees” who have flocked to Xiaohongshu after TikTok influencers called for a migration to the app to show their opposition to the U.S. government’s crackdown on TikTok. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on a law that requires TikTok to be divested from its parent company ByteDance by January 19, or face a ban in the U.S.

Dubbed “RedNote” by TikTokers, Xiaohongshu, which had not previously targeted American users, was the most-downloaded app on Apple’s U.S. App Store as of Tuesday. For Rios, using the app is more than an act of rebellion, she told Rest of World.

“I just wanted something that could replace TikTok, and also it was sort of an act of protest against our government,” the Texan said. 

Xiaohongshu, which means “Little Red Book,” is one of the most popular social networks in China. Its feed offers an infinite scroll of Instagram-like posts, powered by TikTok-style customized recommendations. Xiaohongshu users, most of whom are young women, commonly use the app to exchange tips on travel, shopping, and other lifestyle topics. It boasts over 300 million monthly active users.

Xiaohongshu did not respond to Rest of World’s request for comments, including on the latest count of overseas users.

As of Tuesday morning, there were at least 58,000 posts related to “TikTok refugee” on the app’s search engine. A chatroom named “TikTok Refugees Home” livestreamed for hours on Monday, attracting over 727,300 participants.

In contrast to ByteDance which created a separate app, TikTok, for users outside China, Xiaohongshu focuses primarily on Chinese users, and adheres to Beijing’s strict censorship rules. TikTok’s Chinese sister app, Douyin, is not available for download in the U.S. 

Although Xiaohongshu is widely used by overseas Chinese, the platform has made limited efforts to attract a broader international user base. Even Xiaohongshu’s logo is designed with the Chinese characters of its name. It offers no in-app translation for user posts or comments, and only suggests Chinese-language keywords in its search bar. 

Now, the sudden influx of American users to Xiaohongshu has created an unusual space for exchanges between Chinese and American users. Over the past few days, they have exchanged cat memes, shared pictures of each others’ hometowns, and addressed thorny topics like racism, transgender rights, and Luigi Mangione. 

“I think Xiaohongshu is the Chinese app closest to American internet culture,” Roger Huang, a Mandarin-speaking Canadian author who signed up on Xiaohongshu in 2020 to learn about Chinese consumer trends, told Rest of World. “If a bunch of Americans showed up on WeChat, they’d be totally lost,” he said, referring to China’s ubiquitous instant messaging app. 

The interactions between American and Chinese users could have lasting positive implications, Huang said. “It could help more Americans realize that Shanghainese are not that different from New Yorkers. That would be healthy for U.S.-Chinese discourse in general.” 

But the sudden increase in American users likely poses new challenges for Xiaohongshu, as the platform tries to balance global business expansion with pressure to enforce China’s censorship laws.

China’s internet censorship system – often referred to as “The Great Firewall” – blocks content that is deemed sensitive, such as discussions of LGBTQ issues, street protests, and the Chinese leadership. American media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X are banned in China, while popular Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo are relatively complex and difficult for foreigners to navigate.

In China, internet users are required to register for social media accounts with their real names. Violations of content rules could result in account bans or legal repercussions, including jail time. People have learned to avoid sensitive topics, or adopt euphemisms. 

American TikTokers did not seem to know, or care, about these rules. Their posts on Xiaohongshu range from seeking opinions on the Ukraine War to homosexuality to the Chinese government – topics that often trigger censorship in China. In the comments, some Chinese users reminded the newcomers not to discuss “politics, religion, and drugs.”

Xiaohongshu’s censorship system is likely being greatly challenged, Eric Liu, a former content moderator for Weibo and currently a U.S.-based editor with China Digital Times, told Rest of World. 

“The fact that Americans are using Xiaohongshu is already [stepping] on the red line,” Liu said. “This is something that will not be able to last because Americans don’t practice self-censorship.” To comply with Chinese law, the app may need to create a wall between domestic and foreign users, as ByteDance has done with TikTok and Douyin, he added.  

While the influx of Americans is pushing Xiaohongshu to clarify its international strategy, creating a separate app for international users will expose it to the same scrutiny that TikTok is facing in the West, Sheng Zou, an assistant professor at the School of Communication of Hong Kong Baptist University, told Rest of World.

“The platform needs to figure out how global it wants to be, how it wants to position itself, and what its globalization or internationalization development plan is in the next few years,” said Zou, who researches social media and popular culture. 

Ultimately, it is up to users to determine if they want to be subjected to Chinese censorship, he added. Rios, who said she didn’t expect to spend so much time chatting with Chinese users, is not too concerned.

“If they think China is that interested in our data, I’d rather give it to them directly,” she said. “I don’t think China cares what I am doing, I think it is just a way [for the U.S. government] to control us.”

But not all Chinese users are thrilled. Lin, a 28-year old Xiaohongshu user in China, found it “refreshing” to chat with American users at first, but soon grew tired of language and cultural barriers that led to stilted conversations, she told Rest of World. 

“Xiaohongshu by nature is a Chinese-speaking community … it is kind of like a Chinese cultural circle that is hard to have foreigners mingled in,” said Lin, who only gave her last name over fears of repercussions from speaking to the foreign media. 

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, there is still uncertainty over whether TikTok will get banned. Some U.S. businesses have shown interest in buying TikTok, while Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the company, according to a report from Bloomberg.

For now, Americans like Rios are still enjoying exploring Xiaohongshu. Some are using the app’s powerful algorithm to find Chinese users who share their niche hobbies in birding, crochet, musical theatre, and League of Legends.

Other users are taking the opportunity to mock U.S. security concerns, with some Americans posting variations of the joke, “Hi I am looking for my Chinese spy,” and some Chinese users replying, “Who is calling me? I am coming!”