A Chinese app is rocketing up download charts – but in Australia, the sudden uptake is not just about TikTok
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Experts say the flood of users to RedNote highlights flaws in the Albanese government’s social media ban. As the TikTok ban looms in the United States, users have flocked to RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, a China-based app that looks similar to Instagram.
![[Australia’s social media ban for under-16s is now law. There’s plenty we still don’t know – video]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/368e90a702efb36778d93549190addf9371ceaac/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
But in Australia, where there is no imminent TikTok ban, the app is also rocketing up the app download charts. And it doesn’t just tell us about TikTok – it also exposes issues with Australia’s forthcoming social media age ban. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email.
RedNote has 300 million users mostly based in China, but has added about 700,000 new users in a matter of days as TikTok users look for an alternative. Dr Alexia Maddox, director of digital education at La Trobe University, said three factors are probably driving Australians to download RedNote.
These include Australian users following American users, particularly as content creators shift, a strategic move to secure user names and establish a presence on an emerging app – and, possibly, the incoming social media ban for under-16s. “While it’s speculative at this stage, the platform migration patterns we’re seeing align with what we know about how users respond to regulatory changes – both anticipated and actual,” she said.
ByteDance is facing a 19 January deadline to sell TikTok or face a ban in the US on national security grounds. TikTok is used by about 170 million Americans, roughly half of the country’s population, and is overwhelmingly popular with young people and the advertisers wanting to reach them.
