By Eric Cheung, Joyce Jiang and Hassan Tayir, CNN
Hong KongCNN —
As Supreme Court justices ponder the future of TikTok in the United States, a growing number of American social media users have responded by moving to an unlikely alternative: Xiaohongshu, a hugely popular social media app in China.
The app, which means “Little Red Book,” often shortened by US users to RedNote, surged to the top position on Apple’s US App Store on Tuesday.
Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is one of China’s biggest social media platforms with 300 million users, according to research firm Qian Gua. Described as China’s answer to Instagram, the app has become especially popular for sharing tips on travel, makeup and fashion.
But while it has cornered the Chinese market, it hasn’t gained much prominence beyond the Chinese-speaking world. Until now.
Why is Xiaohongshu everywhere?
Xiaohongshu is surging in popularity worldwide in the same week that TikTok could potentially go offline in the US.
US mobile downloads of Xiaohongshu almost tripled over the past week, compared to the seven days before, San Francisco-based market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told CNN on Tuesday.
