What to know about RedNote, the Chinese app that American TikTokkers are flooding

[womanofthehills]

“The start of this week saw a dramatic uptick in Google searches and social media posts about RedNote, as well as its surge to the top spot of the "free apps" chart on Apple's app store. The market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told NPR that its data indicates RedNote is also the top-ranked social app on the Google Play store on Wednesday — a big jump from #162, where it stood this time last year.

A person close to RedNote told Reuters that more than 700,000 new users joined in just two days. The New York Times reported that more than 100,000 people joined a live group chat hosted by a user named TikTok Refugee Club on Tuesday.

Many of these American newcomers are calling themselves TikTok refugees, a term that's proliferating across the app in hashtags, comment sections and live chats. And the app's Chinese users appear to be welcoming them with open arms, asking for cat photos and help with their English homework.”

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/15/nx-s1-5260742/tiktok-china-rednote-xiaohongshu-app

[SheltieLover]

1. I've never used soc media, but I cannot fathom why people

Last edited Thu Jan 16, 2025, 11:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Would not flock to Bluesky or Mastadon rather than this Chinese owned co.

[Autumn]

3. My granddaughter joined. She had me laughing all day long with the videos.

These young people have a lot in common.

[MichMan]

5. A lack of concern over their personal data being harvested by the Chinese government? n/t

[SheltieLover]

6. I guess so!

[Autumn]

9. She's not concerned. She says our government has all our data and it gets hacked

and sold. She said she could look for something on Amazon or do a search for something and it would be in her FB shortly. She's right, that has happened to me and my Data has been breached a few times. She prefers TikTok but she joined this site because she is worried about the ban. She uses the tiktok app for a lot of things. Someone did math tutoring and she got some help on her algebra 2 years ago, she loves to shop there. She uses a prepaid Visa when she shops on TikTok and she has bought some really cool things.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

28. Money bros sell and buy the info, NOT the government. She is clueless . . . . nt

[Celerity]

46. Autumn never claimed what you just implied. She did not say anything about the government selling the data.

you said:

Money bros sell and buy the info, NOT the government. She is clueless . . . . nt

Autumn said:

She's not concerned. She says our government has all our data and it gets hacked and sold. She said she could look for something on Amazon or do a search for something and it would be in her FB shortly. She's right, that has happened to me and my Data has been breached a few times.

[Autumn]

48. Reading is sometimes a problem.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

72. The "she" was not Autumn, but the person Autumn wrote about. The valuable data is not hacked data

I'm sorry, I was much too brief in that reply.

Further, the data is not simply passwords, names, email and phone numbers, which is the basic kind of information that gets hacked.

The data that gets sold is a lot more, a distillation by AIs of all her posts to indicate who she is connected to as family, friends, enemies, employers. It indicates likes and dislikes and interests, a personal profile. It includes photos of those people, their houses, their cars, their toys, where they go on vacation, the food they eat. A very complete profile.

Plus internal direct messages between users who expect those messages to be private and not read by the companies.

Data breaches are a bother, but pale in comparison to the detailed profiles bad actors glean from posts, likes, what posts they read, and what posts they read more than once.

Not just the users, but even people and companies and government operations not on the app get compromised by the volumes of cross-correlated data.

[Celerity]

74. I am well aware of the construct of Autumn's reply, and I absolutely knew it was her granddaughter she was speaking of.

Autumn did not (when speaking about her granddaughter) state that either Autumn herself or her granddaughter were making the claim that the government sold their data.

That is what I was addressing with my reply.

[womanofthehills]

15. It's a big joke over there with the kids

The Chinese kids are teasing the American kids about spying - saying stuff like “you drank too much coffee this morning - I think you should should drink less”

Lots of Chinese kids teaching American kids how to speak Mandarin and lots of American kids on there trying out their Mandarin. What’s hopeful - the kids are all connecting!!

If you buy from Tamu & other Chinese internet stores, they already have your data.

[MichMan]

18. "If you buy from Tamu & other Chinese internet stores, they already have your data"

I don't buy from them under any circumstances for that reason (as well as others).

[VBNMW]

20. Lol

If you’ve ever shopped at Walmart, you’ve supported the Chinese.

[MichMan]

22. Wal Mart does not own Temu, does it?

Nor is it a Chinese internet company.

Buying a product manufactured in China from an American company (while not my preference) is not the same as buying it from a Chinese retailer with connection to the Chinese government and supplying personal banking info while doing so.

[Bluetus]

40. What are they harvesting? Please be specific.

I spent a 40+ year career in IT, so I am not particular naive about these things. But I really don't see anything of value that Tiktok can get that isn't broadly available from Big Data aggregators already. If the concern is that the app will leave trap doors and such on millions of cell phones, well, that is a concern that ought to be put directly to Apple and Google who provide those operating systems. If they present such a national security vulnerability, then maybe some people at Apple and Google should be facing criminal charges.

I am not suggesting that is the case. This anti Tiktok mob seems to have all the intelligence and grounding in reality of the people who were carrying on about them drones, them drones a couple of weeks ago.

BTW, what happened with them drones, anyway. Did the Martians figure out that their cover was blown and they went back to their own planet?

[MichMan]

57. The ban overwhelmingly passed both houses and was signed into law by President Biden

Passed the House 360-58 and the Senate 79-18. 15 of the 18 voting against it in the Senate were Republicans

Why did they all join the anti TikTok mob? Must be lacking the intelligence and grounding in reality you are referring to. You seem to have a very poor opinion regarding the intelligence of our elected officeholders.

Here is the list of the House votes.

https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202486

[Bluetus]

63. Have you heard a single lawmaker (or anyone else)

say specifically what the Tiktok threat is, that is not equally present in Facebook, Twitter, Truth Social, or DU, for that matter?

No, you haven't. Because none of them knows shit about this stuff. Remember when Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska was ridiculed for talking about "the interwebs" as a "series of tubes"? Well, that was a hell of a lot more more accurate than anything anybody in Congress has explained about the "Tiktok threat".

And I notice nobody here has identified a single specific threat from Tiktok that isn't already present all across the tech landscape.

Just another political mob rush. Everybody trying to act like they are doing something important without having the slightest clue.

And don't get me wrong. There are real threats. Plenty of them, and serious ones. But they certainly aren't inherent or exclusive to Tiktok.

[AZProgressive]

66. I don't think it was the most intelligent decision to push this during an election year

May have hurt Democrats with young voters and it seems many politicians supported it because TikTok doesn't censor pro Palestinian content as much as Facebook or US companies do.

If they were concerned about data harvesting or privacy they could try to pass legislation that applies to all of Big Tech not just 1 company.

Also Elon Musk owning X or Twitter seems to be a lot worse as far as propaganda goes than TikTok.

[Wiz Imp]

70. For what it's worth, very few Republicans voted against it

but those that did are the worst of the worst (like Gaetz, MTG, Mace, etc.). If those people are against a ban, then that tells me a ban is the absolute correct policy.

[LuvLoogie]

83. Nope. A ban is foolish.

Periodt.

[Wiz Imp]

84. That's your opinion

Me. I find disagreeing with the position of MTG on every issue puts me on the right side of the issue 100% of the time.

[LuvLoogie]

87. That is a faulty barometer.

You should download TikTok and look around for a month.

[Wiz Imp]

89. Whatever. Like it or not, it is banned and it won't impact my life whatsoever.

And I still think if being on the opposite side of an issue from MTG pretty much guarantees that I'm on the right side. So far it has held 100% of the time.

[LuvLoogie]

90. That is a very narrow view.

Shit rolls downhill, but then it piles up.
Then your surrounded by it with no way out.

[Wiz Imp]

91. Whatever.

Bye

[Autumn]

52. To join TikTok you give the same information you gave to join here

email address or phone number, date of birth.

[Srkdqltr]

4. You do realise this is social media?

[LeftInTX]

8. They're teenagers and they're hooked on goofy videos. It's a scroll, scroll of videos.

BlueSky isn't that way.

[Autumn]

10. A lot of those videos are done by some very smart young people.

Sharing ideas, thoughts and knowledge. They are communicating more than anyone here or on any other site.

[LeftInTX]

11. I haven't seen any. I'm sure they are there. Hubby enjoys TikTok. I've seen fake "psychic sleuths" and teens dancing

It's much easier to make money on TikTok than it is to make money on YouTube. Hence, you are gonna get more sleuth grifters on TikTok.

[Autumn]

12. Maybe you ought to change who you follow. nt

[LeftInTX]

13. I can't stand the app. It's too intrusive. I turned off notifications (which were like every minute)

And it stopped working. If someone sends me a TikTok video, I can't open it.

[Autumn]

14. If you don't use it it's not a problem is it? I have found some nice people

and some really cool gifts to buy on TikTok. The information these young people share is great. Just like here and anywhere else you have to weed out garbage but the tools to do it are there. I haven't joined the other one yet but my baby girl is keeping me informed and I probably will sign up . IMO the dangerous sites that should be banned are X and FB . They have no purpose.

[Bettie]

25. I am enjoying FAFO videos

about magats suddenly realizing that the ACA and Obamacare are the same thing and other such things.

Plus, some dog/cat rescue people, funny dog/cat videos and I'm fascinated with 800 square foot NY apartments that cost more per month than any of the mortgages we've ever had.

Oh and Chef Reactions!

[Autumn]

54. I love the FAFO's too . I'll miss some of the people I follow on there.

[Bettie]

64. Me too

and because of a panic....there are data breaches every day. Governments can BUY our data from Meta or other companies, FFS.

It has been one of the few things that make me laugh since the election and now it will be gone too. Ah well, fleeting moments of joy are overrated, right?

[Autumn]

69. Yep, sad but true. I had My Space in early internet, hell they has us doing code to

put in our music and stuff. Fun times till it became a shadow of itself. When Twitter and FB came up I signed on, it was good for years . Then Eloon and Zucker the Rat Penis Transplant screwed those two all to hell and all the fun ended. I still use FB but when Eloony started buying trump the presidency I deleted his X. . Now the government has used the stupidest excuse ever to shut down TikTok. All because China might have my e mail address, not even one I use for anything but that site and my birthday. Fucking ridiculous.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

30. Illogical: You don't sell over-priced drugs, so Big Pharma is not a problem, by your logic

You are ignoring that other people use it for transmitting information that should be kept confidential and away from China. But hey it's not impacting you directly, so that must mean it is "nice" and "really cool".

Then you illogically claim that X and FB should be banned even though you don't use them. Your claim directly contradicts your title. You "don't use it it's not a problem is it?" How could you not see such an obvious self-contradiction?

X and FB have exactly the same purpose as TikTok. All three are tight-knit social media that connect people and encourage them to share pictures, text, and videos.

To think otherwise goes against obvious facts.

[Autumn]

44. Try reading what I said instead of what you think I said.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

65. I considered & rejected it might be satire. Doesn't hang together as such & premise would clash your other posts

I read your first sentence and responded to that first.

Here we have another writer blaming the reader for miscomprehension and being above explaining.

Yeah, I read your posts.

[xmas74]

42. My supervisor said i need to join.

I have a huge 11 year old tuxedo cat that the kids on Rednote would adore. Every time we have a Teams meeting I'm expected to put him on camera so everyone can fawn over him.

My supervisor said he deserves an international audience.

[Autumn]

47. Do it. You don't give out anymore personal information

than you do to join FB, Twitter or even here. You sign up using your email address or phone number, create a password, enter your date of birth, choose a username and that's it. You can also sign up using Facebook or Google, But I wouldn't do that.

[xmas74]

71. Im not worried about personal information

I've been hacked through my health insurance, auto insurance,etc enough times that I swear I have a decade of free Experian waiting for me.

[Autumn]

75. Same.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. DU is social media. To think otherwise is to misunderstand social media

There do not have to be family members on to make it "social". You can not know a single member and it is still social.

[LeftInTX]

81. It's a message board. Most of us of hidden by our user names.

Yes, there is always possibilities of breaches with emails etc, but that's everywhere.

FB has a policy where you use your real name. Many twitter/blue sky use their real name.

I'm pretty private here. If I wanted to share my person photos and videos in the lounge, I guess I could. However, DU does not make it easy to share personal photos/videos etc. And that's one of the definitions of SM.

It's very easy to share photos and videos on FB. Just a click from your phone. Cut and post and poof...
You can also go live on FB. At an event? Go to FB, hit live and start videotaping.

Here are the excerpts from the "TikTok" ban.

A) IN GENERAL.—The term “covered company” means an entity that operates, directly or indirectly (including through a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate), a website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application that—

(i) permits a user to create an account or profile to generate, share, and view text, images, videos, real-time communications, or similar content;

(ii) has more than 1,000,000 monthly active users with respect to at least 2 of the 3 months preceding the date on which a relevant determination of the President is made pursuant to paragraph (3)(B);

(iii) enables 1 or more users to generate or distribute content that can be viewed by other users of the website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application; and

iv) enables 1 or more users to view content generated by other users of the website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7521/text

[xmas74]

38. It's to prove a point

The US government has stated Tiktok is stealing and selling user information for the Chinese government. Joining Rednote basically says they don't care. Many who've joined have stated that their information was already stolen and has been many times over before Tiktok so who cares.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

59. Those are illogical people who seem to think other people's problems don't matter, nor does the collective good

Similarly they think that they are the only people being revealed. Because they don't think. They don't think about how they compromise their uncle Bob when they talk about his affair with his secretary. Or the security of a project when they say their friend got a hush-hush job with Raytheon in a new office in New Mexico.

They who are supposed to be so much more hip to tech and AI than their parents or grandparents -- they haven't thought or can't think how the more data you give the AIs the more they find ways to use it. They don't think of all that in the hands of a cyber-aggressive foreign adversary.

Yeah, and they don't care because they think it is such a simplistic thing they can't imagine it being a problem. That it isn't a problem for them seems to dominate what little thinking they do.

[Politicub]

73. Because they're not short video platforms

They is no substitute for people who want that experience. It’s the same reason why people who use Snap wouldn’t use Bsky as an alternative. Meta and YouTube have tried to emulate it but haven’t been successful.

People are flocking to Bsky from Twitter. I haven’t visited or read about Mastodon for a while.

Maybe people will give Mark Cuban’s TikTok competitor a try once he gets his new service going.

People want an alternative. Many people who have used TikTok have experienced the trance-like effect it has. Its quick videos and unending stream of content hooks you and keeps you scrolling. Their algorithm and approach is effective. I liken it to CocoMelon.

I won’t miss it, but I’m not its intended audience.

[Srkdqltr]

2. It's almost funny. These men in power, older guys who dont seem to understand that if you ban something,

People will go around or over or under to get it. The users have more knowledge of how this works than high ups in government.

[SheltieLover]

7. Too bad it's not a law banning Ruskie or Chinese companies

[Pinback]

29. Too bad it's not a law banning all unauthorized commercial spying on users.

But that would tread on some very wealthy and powerful toes.

[SheltieLover]

37. Yup.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

31. They can go around, kinda, but that doesn't mean they automatically choose another Chinese company

And it doesn't mean the other company does everything TikTok does.

They can go around by using FB or X or Bluesky or Mastadon. Those are social media that encourage sharing of text, images, and videos like TikTok.

[DeepWinter]

16. Another CCP app collecting data

I'm sure the kids don't mind. They're working on the next Tide Pod challenge.

[Autumn]

21. I bet you have never looked at either site and doubt you know any young people

that are on any social media sites.

[DeepWinter]

34. Well

I have 4x kids ages 16-24 along with a mess of their friends over on weekends, along with 10 nephews/nieces ages 18-33, so I'm pretty tapped in. More than I care to be.

The kids are already moving over to IG Reels.

[LeftInTX]

36. Reels....They also have them on FB. My granddaughter was watching them and I thought she was watching TikTok

She's non-verbal autistic, so I couldn't ask her what she was watching. It was one continuous stream of short videos. She selected abstract patterns. I eventually recognized stuff from meta. It could have been IG Reels, also.

[Callie1979]

77. If its Chinese owned, the same rules apply to them that applied to TikTok

Te CCP can tell them to do whatever they WANT to tell them & they have to do it
And yes, the excuse the "young people" will give you is "The govt already has all my personal info!!"
But the US govt wont create fake personas based on your info. Or use your info to gain access to secure sites. Or gain access to your money. Etc Etc
Even trump was against TikTok until the biggest US stockholder gave him a sack of money.

[Callie1979]

76. Yep!

[Luvcatz14]

19. There has to be something

Telling teens they can’t be on something like TikTok is like telling my generation not to listen to Duran Duran or telling my parents not to Jitterbug. Unfortunately, American companies aren’t quite as innovative and I wouldn’t trust my kids to be on apps run by the tech oligarchs here. See: Musk, Elon.

[MichMan]

24. The ban passed overwhelmingly in both houses of congress and was signed by President Biden

One could always protest by supporting their opponents in the next election.

[Srkdqltr]

27. I don't know the answer. But it seems like the parents ...... no wait.... parents are on it too.

I don't care really. I've seen TicToc. Heard the pitfalls, the collection of data is ...well.. data is on-line already. That ship has sailed. Bad ideas...those are all around. Children being coerced..parents have to be present. All parents must find out how all this works and how to manage them.

Knowing nothing is not an option.
Just good luck with banning.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

32. You underestimate the synergistic effects of more accumulated data analyzed by AI

More data means more connections revealed, more secrets not-so-secretly posted, more buying patterns, more vulnerabilities, more leads on other people.

[TheProle]

33. Amnesty Int'l: TikTok's 'For You' feed risks pushing children and young people towards harmful mental health content

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/tiktok-risks-pushing-children-towards-harmful-content/

TikTok’s content recommender system and its invasive data collection practices pose a danger to young users of the platform by amplifying depressive and suicidal content that risk worsening existing mental health challenges, two companion reports released today by Amnesty International show.

The two reports –Driven into the Darkness: How TikTok Encourages Self-harm and Suicidal Ideation and the I Feel Exposed: Caught in TikTok’s Surveillance Web -highlight the abuses experienced by children and young people using TikTok, and the ways in which these abuses are caused by TikTok’s recommender system and the underlying business model.

The findings of a joint technical investigation, with our partners – the Algorithmic Transparency Institute (ATI) at the National Conference on Citizenship and AI Forensics – show how children and young people who watch mental health-related content on TikTok’s ‘For You’ page are quickly being drawn into “rabbit holes” of potentially harmful content, including videos that romanticize and encourage depressive thinking, self-harm and suicide.

“The findings expose TikTok’s manipulative and addictive design practices, which are designed to keep users engaged for as long as possible. They also show that the platform’s algorithmic content recommender system, credited with enabling the rapid global rise of the platform, exposes children and young adults with pre-existing mental health challenges to serious risks of harm,” said Lisa Dittmer, Amnesty International Researcher.

[LuvLoogie]

35. Jeezuz, DU is as clueless as to why

Last edited Thu Jan 16, 2025, 06:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Americans flooded xiaohongshu (Rednote/Little Red Book) as you all are about TikTok and it's users.

People don't care about the data. Chinese spies aren't keeping us from getting healthcare, a living wage, reproductive rights, freedom to speak to each other.

You have no idea what people are doing/sharing on these apps.

[LeftInTX]

39. This? LOL He loves his playtime....

[LuvLoogie]

41. That was creepy. LOL

But lots of disabled people, artists, musicians, teachers, craftsmen, gardeners, writers, cooks,...

[LeftInTX]

45. And lots of lame stuff....

[LuvLoogie]

50. There's lots of lame stuff on Netflix and NPR

Let's ban them.

Lots of lame shit on YouTube and instagram

But guess what. ANYONE with a lame idea can post. That's the point.

On TikTok people had your back though, against the bigots and trolls. And the algorithm really allowed real interaction with your tribe. And it gave people a source of income outside of the traditional wage slave economy.

[LeftInTX]

53. The TikTok algorithm created alot of problems for teens.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66719572

Inside Tiktok's real-life frenzies - from riots to false murder accusations




TikTok is driving online frenzies that encourage anti-social behaviour in the real world, a BBC Three investigation reveals.

Ex-employees say the issue is not being tackled for fear of slowing the growth of the social media app's business.

These frenzies - where TikTok drives disproportionate amounts of engagement to some topics - are evidenced by interviews with former staffers, app users and BBC analysis of wider social media data. They have then led to disruption and disorder in everyday life.

The BBC's investigation found that TikTok's algorithm and design means people are seeing videos which they wouldn't normally be recommended - which, in turn, incentivise them to do unusual things in their own videos on the platform.

TikTok has previously distanced itself from outbreaks of disorder, such as the threatened looting of London's Oxford Street last month, which politicians blamed on the billion-user app.

“I know when people are lying”: The disturbing rise of TikTok sleuths
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/social-media/2023/02/people-lying-disturbing-tiktok-social-media

This young girl's family was pimping her out on TikTok. She was stalked and her family murdered the guy. They refused to take her off TikTok afterward because of the money she was bringing in.

&ab_channel=NBC2News

It's really easy to earn money on TikTok and that's what this girl was doing. She started earning money from dance videos at age 13.

[LuvLoogie]

55. So did M TV

So did the roller rink

So does High School

[LeftInTX]

56. But you were just talking about how wonderful it was and how "it has your back"

It doesn't "have your back".

[LuvLoogie]

58. The people have your back

I can tell you never used it.

[LeftInTX]

60. What people???

People are people. I don't believe people "have your back" anymore than my "friends" on FB do. I've seen crazy TikTok psychic scams in a murder case I followed. Hubby is on TikTok. There is no real community. He watches how-to videos.

I was on TikTok, but I found the app extremely intrusive. I wasn't following anyone and I would get a notification every minute or so. I disabled notifications and the app stopped working.

[LuvLoogie]

61. The people on the app.

Dude you don't know.

[LeftInTX]

62. It's not a "love fest". I was on it, but I found it intrusive.

And the girl whose parents are still pimping her out?

[LuvLoogie]

67. Yeah those parents need to keep that shit in church

Intrusive like Meta and Google? And Amazon?

How much time did you spend? Did you follow anybody? Did you post any content?

[LeftInTX]

68. Constant alerts on my phone. I turned off the alerts and now I can't open posts.

I still have the app installed and I have a login.
The only reason I have it, was so that I can read posts because it was so hot. But every minute my phone was dinging. So I disabled the alerts and now I can't open posts.

[Callie1979]

78. Not even CLOSE to being the same thing.

[thebigidea]

51. I mean, most don't care about the data either. That's just a dodge to get people talking about Meta and Twitter

it's the fact that it's controlled by a foreign power that uses it to push disinformation and propaganda. Surely we have enough with our homegrown propaganda!

[W_HAMILTON]

80. You think China isn't in the global propaganda game?

You think China doesn't interfere in our elections like Russia?

Once you answer those two questions, then answer me this: do you think their propaganda and interference in our elections is to get politicians elected that are for universal healthcare, a living wage, reproductive rights, and freedom to speak to each other?

LOL!

[LuvLoogie]

82. LOL. Our problems are of our own making.

It's just people giving Mandarin lessons and asking lifestyle questions of each other. Nobody fucking cares about the data. America sucks for real. It elected trump twice. The electorate was sold a racist lollipop.

[thebigidea]

49. I look forward to hearing how it's algorithms depress Democratic turnout in 2026 and 2028

when the same awful influencers spread lies about our candidates and policies.

[Callie1979]

79. Exactly. This was the first TikTok/Twitter election. We see how it went

TikTok pushed disinformation videos against Harris just like Russians on twitter did. As well as pro trump videos & "news"
And look at this thread. I wonder how many people here excusing TikTok also complain if you post a link to sometime on Twitter?

[rockfordfile]

85. Another Chinese app?

tiktok refugee? lol they should get a life.

It's clear that China's trying to influence our country anyway they can.

[pimpbot]

86. Everywhere I go out

All I see is people with their head down glued to their phone screen. The corporations have found their ultimate addiction.

When you hear about all these people "losing their living" from a tiktok ban, they were making money by sponsors and by shilling for products. Very few make money based total number of views.

[valleyrogue]

88. I will stick with YouTube and others of that type.

TikTok is video junk food for people with short attention spans, which bodes ill for civilization.

I never cared for it.