Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — In the days leading up to the anticipated U.S. ban on TikTok, millions of American users scrambled to find alternatives, flooding the Chinese app RedNote. Hailed by many as the go-to replacement for the popular short-form video platform, RedNote app’s now being phased out, according to TechCrunch.
Ahead the day of the potential ban on 19 January, RedNote boasted 32.5 million daily active users in the U.S. The surging popularity made the app briefly skyrocketed to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store.
However, when President Donald Trump announced a temporary reprieve for TikTok, granting the app a 75-day extension to negotiate its future in the U.S., RedNote’s user base plummeted. By Monday 20 January, that number had dropped by 54%, over half of the total active users, according to analytics firm Similarweb.
Another app intelligence provider, Sensor Tower, reported a similar decline. Between January 20 and January 22, RedNote’s average daily active users in the U.S. fell by 17% compared to the prior week.
A Temporary Surge
The initial mass migration to RedNote reflected a mix of protest and pragmatism among TikTok users, dubbed “TikTok refugees.” Some 700,000 users downloaded the app in just two days as the ban deadline loomed, according to Sensor Tower. By Thursday January 16, RedNote’s daily active users in the U.S. reached 3.4 million, marking a 133.8% increase from the previous week.
For many users, switching to RedNote was both a message to lawmakers and a rejection of domestic alternatives like Instagram’s Reels. Critics called the TikTok ban hypocritical, arguing that companies like Meta had long monetized user data without similar scrutiny.
Others expressed indifference about China accessing their personal data, as they had grown skeptical of the U.S. government’s claims of a national security threat.
A Challenging Transition
Despite the surprising surge, RedNote’s popularity is unlikely to last, as the app’s appeal is being overshadowed by TikTok. Especially, the app primarily designed for Chinese users, was localized in Mandarin, creating a language barrier for most Americans.
Language-learning platform Duolingo reported a 216% increase in U.S. users studying Mandarin during the same period, but the challenges of mastering a new language likely deterred many.
Unlike TikTok, which has thrived as a global platform, RedNote focuses heavily on the Chinese market. This localized approach makes it an unlikely long-term replacement for TikTok in the U.S.
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Meanwhile, TikTok saw its U.S. daily active users surge to a record 106.8 million on iOS and Android the day before the ban. The numbers underscored the app’s deep integration into American culture and its users’ loyalty.
Despite the decline in RedNote’s user base following renewed hope for TikTok’s survival in the U.S., the app’s rapid surge in popularity presented a clear challenge to U.S. authorities. The trend highlighted that many users were willing to turn to another Chinese-owned app as an alternative, signaling their resistance to the proposed TikTok ban.
(Raidi/Agung)
