TikTok refugee migration: Little Red Book's unexpected journey to the US

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: TikTok "refugee" migration wave

- TikTok faces ban, users flock to Xiaohongshu
- Cultural leap: "immigrants" on digital platforms

2. Background: TikTok faces US ban

- The US government accuses TikTok of being a "national security threat"
- Forced split and US court ruling

3. Xiaohongshu's "counterattack"

- Mass migration of US users
- How "TikTok refugees" integrate into the Xiaohongshu community
- Xiaohongshu's ranking in the US App Store soars

4. Xiaohongshu's cross-cultural communication

- Chinese and American users interact through Xiaohongshu
- "Cat tax" and "pet tax": social rituals of new immigrants
- Cultural communication and understanding among users

5. Xiaohongshu's unique charm

- Simple operation and comprehensive functions
- Competition with TikTok's "brother software" Lemon8
- Sharing space free from political interference

6. American users' choice motivations

- Disappointment with TikTok and local platforms
- The need for digital space sovereignty and self-expression
- Protest against the US government's regulation of social platforms

7. Fatigue and resistance of traditional social platforms

- Users do not trust Meta and X platforms
- Dissatisfaction with US tech giants
- Pursuit of a more open social space without political pressure

8. Future challenges of Xiaohongshu

- Short-term growth and long-term sustainability
- Legal and compliance risks faced
- Can this user growth momentum be maintained

9. Conclusion: Misunderstandings and hopes in digital platforms

- Misunderstandings and public reactions during the Cold War
- Is the TikTok refugee phenomenon a symbol of the "Spring Tide"
- Hope and future across cultural divides

Overnight, Xiaohongshu was taken over by a group of English-speaking Americans...

Yesterday, they posted "last videos" on TikTok and X, bidding farewell to their internet friends with tears in their eyes, reciting "hello, goodbye, thank you" in broken Chinese, and tearfully accusing the United States of a possible ban on TikTok; today, they have been "reincarnated" on Xiaohongshu, calling on their friends, bringing their families, cats and dogs, and curiously walking into the daily lives of Chinese netizens on the other side of the ocean.

In the past few days, the information cocoon has been completely shattered.

Who are these people? They call themselves "TikTok refugees." As TikTok faces a ban in the United States, tens of thousands of American users have flocked to the Chinese social platform "Little Red Book" like a tide, starting a great migration to the "new world" of the digital world.

The story begins in March last year. At that time, the United States accused TikTok of being a "national security threat" and claimed that its parent company ByteDance was potentially influenced by the Chinese government. Although ByteDance has repeatedly denied these allegations, the U.S. Congress voted overwhelmingly to pass a "forced sale order" requiring TikTok to separate its U.S. business from ByteDance by January 19, 2025, otherwise it will face a complete ban.

As the January 19 deadline approaches, TikTok's parent company is trying to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, while facing the iron-clad decision of the Federal Court of Appeal: either sell or ban, no room for negotiation. The final result of this legal tug-of-war is that if TikTok fails to find a new buyer, the 170 million active users in the United States may face their "last day" with the platform.

Therefore, in the past two days, a group of TikTok users who were worried about losing their "digital home" and were curious and uneasy about the new platform have set up camp on Xiaohongshu. They proudly marked themselves as "TikTok refugees" in their profiles and even shared with each other strategies on "how to quickly integrate into the Xiaohongshu ecosystem", as if a cultural adventure across the Internet has quietly begun.

Therefore, in the past few days, Xiaohongshu has "soared overnight" in the rankings of the US Apple App Store, jumping 10 places directly to the top of the list. A large number of American users who call themselves "TikTok refugees" have poured in like a tide, making this Chinese social application instantly the hottest download champion in the US region.

Interestingly, on the download list of the US Apple App Store, Xiaohongshu's "neighbor" is "Lemon8" - a "copycat version of Xiaohongshu" developed by TikTok. Whether it is the interface design, operating logic, or the photo editing function within the App, it is like a "twin" of Xiaohongshu. It seems that while ByteDance is busy with the lawsuit, it has quietly launched a "spare tire" online, and has a plan in place.

Xiaohongshu’s search data on Google has seen a phenomenal surge

Pay tea tax? Pay cat tax!

Open the homepage of Xiaohongshu, and you will see that a large number of American users are busy "paying cat tax". It is said that in the ecosystem of Xiaohongshu, paying cat tax is the first condition for being accepted by the community. What if you don't have a cat? Don't panic, this group of new "refugees" quickly developed "alternative taxes" such as dog tax and rabbit tax, and uploaded cute photos of their pets, which brought a surge in traffic. After all, on Xiaohongshu, the spread of pet pictures is comparable to the cockroach effect: a pet picture appearing in the comment area will soon trigger a grand event of "thousands of pets galloping".

Unlike TikTok, which is only available to Chinese users, Xiaohongshu has an international version, but the content of the Chinese and international versions is interoperable. This feature makes Xiaohongshu a platform for global users to share content and interact, and thus staged an unprecedented cross-border cultural exchange.

Chinese and American users have a conversation through the platform's artificial intelligence translation function. Although the words used are sometimes a bit stiff, it does not affect the warm interactive atmosphere at all. Everyone shares Xiaohongshu's "survival guide", recipes, travel recommendations, and even jointly develops "community etiquette". For many American users, Xiaohongshu is not only an alternative social platform, but also a window to understand Chinese culture.

By browsing the content on the platform, they gradually break away from their inherent impressions and come into contact with and understand Chinese culture from a new perspective. It can be said that this cross-cultural "social migration" is quietly changing the cognition of many people and adding a unique international flavor to Xiaohongshu.

In this era when Sino-US relations are increasingly severed, Xiaohongshu has unexpectedly become a bridge across cultural barriers. On Xiaohongshu, the relationship between the Chinese and American people has never been so harmonious, and the world has never been so harmonious.

Why Xiaohongshu?

The reason why Xiaohongshu can attract a large number of multinational users is not only because of its simple operation, but also because its functions in sharing, business and self-expression are almost "no dead ends", meeting the core needs of modern users. This feature makes it stand out in the fierce competition of social platforms.

However, just before Xiaohongshu topped the list of the US Apple App Store, the first place was a social software called Lemon8. This software was developed by TikTok and can be called a "copycat version of Xiaohongshu". From the interface design to the operating logic, to the P-picture function in the App, it is almost a "copy and paste" of Xiaohongshu. But even so, Lemon8 can still be popular in the US market, which is enough to show that the "Xiaohongshu-style" social software model is very popular among American users.

The problem is that the "origin" of this software determines its ceiling. Since Lemon8 belongs to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and ByteDance is being closely watched by the US government due to policy risks, American netizens' trust in it is naturally greatly reduced. In other words, TikTok may be banned at any time, so why can people believe that Lemon8 can continue to operate for a long time? Many users do not want to experience the fatigue of "large-scale material moving" again, and choose to find a new place completely - this also provides a rare opportunity for Xiaohongshu.

As for the other option - TikTok's Chinese version of Douyin, although it is powerful, because registration and login require a Chinese mobile phone number, this threshold directly excludes most "TikTok refugees". As a result, Xiaohongshu has become the most suitable "refuge", which not only meets the functional needs of users, but also provides a fresh experience of cross-cultural communication, and has become a new favorite of American users.

The uniqueness of Xiaohongshu: depoliticization and authentic sharing

Xiaohongshu's success is not only because it is a convenient and diverse platform, but also because of its core feature that distinguishes it from many other social media: the content comes from users' real-life sharing, rather than relying solely on algorithms or commercial advertising. This makes Xiaohongshu's content ecosystem relatively depoliticized, avoiding excessive political discussions or the infiltration of tense emotions, and giving users a more pure and relaxed social space. For American users, this feature is particularly attractive because it means that they can participate in more life-like, entertaining, and creative content without too much interference.

In addition, the solutions to daily life problems that Xiaohongshu can provide, such as recipes, travel recommendations, health advice, etc., come from the personal experiences of real users rather than pure commercial advertisements. This authenticity has established a deeper trust and resonance between the platform and its users, especially for young people, and has become an important channel for obtaining information and communicating. Because of this, more and more young people have chosen Xiaohongshu as a place for them to explore the world and share their lives.

Resistance and self-expression: Sovereignty in digital space

From another perspective, many users who choose to switch to Xiaohongshu are actually protesting against the ban on TikTok. Behind this is not only dissatisfaction with the ban, but also an act of irony towards the US government's policies. This choice reflects the pursuit of digital space sovereignty by American users - they do not want to be forced to accept external political pressure on digital platforms, but hope to express their personal voices through the tools of their own choice and participate in a more open and inclusive global exchange. As some users said, they chose to switch to Xiaohongshu not only to avoid possible bans, but also to break through the US government's restrictions on Chinese applications and achieve freedom of cultural and personal expression.

This phenomenon reflects a broader trend, that is, users of transnational platforms are beginning to break away from the single "zero-sum game" logic and seek new ways of communication on digital platforms. This is no longer a simple "country versus country" confrontation, but a defense of users' autonomous rights to platform selection and information control.

Disappointment and the search for a new home: Antipathy toward local tech giants

In addition, more and more American users are disappointed with local technology giants. Many users no longer trust platforms like Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) and X (formerly Twitter), believing that these platforms have problems in manipulating personal privacy and promoting extreme content. Some people even explicitly stated that they chose TikTok because of their dissatisfaction with these platforms. Now, as TikTok also faces the risk of being banned, they are obviously unwilling to return to these traditional platforms.

For example, user Thalassi directly expressed his dissatisfaction with Musk, calling him a "misogynistic narcissist" and saying that he would not use X even if TikTok did not exist. Another user, Mikaela, also mentioned that she did not like Meta's products, recalling that she started using TikTok because she did not like Instagram and Facebook, and now she is more determined to reject these two platforms. Behind this emotion is a reflection of the loss of trust in local technology giants, and it has also accelerated users' exploration and dependence on new and more open platforms.

Therefore, Xiaohongshu not only attracts users because of its functions and platform design, but more importantly, it represents a more relaxed and depoliticized digital space, which meets users' needs for self-expression and real interaction, and also responds to the emotions of American users who have lost trust in traditional social platforms to a certain extent.

Is it unprecedented wealth or fleeting?

When analyzing the motivations of the influx of these "TikTok refugees", it is not difficult to find that the behavior of these American users is actually a reaction and resistance to the US government's policies. As many people have said, they turned to Xiaohongshu to express their protest against the US government's ban on TikTok, which is a political action that is not a political act. They hope to fight back against the government's excessive regulation of social media and political interference in self-expression by switching platforms. Although this kind of protest traffic can bring temporary exposure to Xiaohongshu, it may also gradually lose momentum over time.

As some scholars have pointed out, the actions of these "TikTok refugees" reflect their dissatisfaction with the excessive regulation of social platforms and political interference in self-expression, but in the end, these users may be like past popular trends, fleeting, leaving behind a bunch of "zombie accounts" and short-term data increments.

Behind the "TikTok refugee" wave, Xiaohongshu is also facing more complex regulatory challenges. With the reverse influx of a large number of American users, Xiaohongshu will inevitably be subject to closer scrutiny by domestic and foreign regulators, especially on issues such as data privacy, content review, and cross-border compliance. The platform needs to be fully prepared. In order to avoid potential legal and policy risks, Xiaohongshu must strengthen its compliance awareness and ensure compliance with the laws and policies of various countries when operating globally.

Therefore, although Xiaohongshu can currently use the "TikTok refugee" wave to bring short-term growth and enrich overseas content, it still takes time to verify whether it can maintain this advantage in the long run. The platform needs to continue to innovate in content ecology and operating models to adapt to the regulatory requirements of different countries and regions, while maintaining the activity and stickiness of users.

Finally, back to the point, an American user posted a video on Xiaohongshu.
Below, the most liked comment said:

They want the people of the two most powerful countries in the world to hate each other, but now I find that there is actually no difference between us.

This sentence is also the original intention of my writing this article.

The times are like rising rivers, and we are all immigrants on both sides of the strait.
The great powers are competing, and the common people are caught up in it, but many hostilities and hatreds may just be misunderstandings due to poor communication.
I hope that this wave of TikTok refugees on Xiaohongshu will become a thaw under the cold confrontation, implying a spring tide.