In January 2025, millions of Americans downloaded a Chinese app almost overnight. It shot to #1 on the US App Store, and most people had never heard of it before. That app was Xiaohongshu — or RedNote, as it’s known in English.
Here’s what it is, why it blew up, and what you can actually do with it.
What Is Xiaohongshu (RedNote)?
Xiaohongshu (小红书) is a Chinese social media and shopping platform founded in 2013. The name means “Little Red Book” in English — a reference to the app’s red color scheme, not to Mao Zedong’s political writings.
Outside China, the app is officially branded as RedNote (styled as “rednote” on both the App Store and Google Play since January 2025). Both names refer to the exact same app.
Think of it as Instagram meets Pinterest, with a built-in shopping function. Users share short videos, photos, and text posts called “notes” (笔记) — covering beauty, travel, food, fitness, and lifestyle. The algorithm surfaces content based on your interests, similar to TikTok’s For You page.
As of 2026, Xiaohongshu has over 300 million monthly active users, the majority of whom are young women in urban China.
Is RedNote the Same as Xiaohongshu?
Yes. RedNote is the international brand name for Xiaohongshu. Same app, same account system, same content feed. American users who joined during the TikTok refugee wave in early 2025 downloaded Xiaohongshu and called it RedNote — both terms now refer to the same thing.
Why Did Millions of TikTok Users Switch to Xiaohongshu?
In January 2025, the US Supreme Court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. With TikTok’s future uncertain, hundreds of thousands of American creators and viewers started looking for alternatives.
They landed on Xiaohongshu.
Within two days of the news breaking, over 700,000 new users joined the platform. The app jumped from #162 to #1 on the US App Store in under a week. Americans calling themselves “TikTok refugees” flooded the platform — and Chinese users welcomed them, posting video tutorials to help newcomers navigate the app.
The moment was unusual: two groups of users who rarely interact online, suddenly sharing the same feed and figuring out how to communicate across a language barrier.
What Can You Do on Xiaohongshu?
Xiaohongshu is built around “notes” — posts that mix photos, short videos, and text. Users browse these to discover products, plan trips, find recipes, or just scroll lifestyle content.
Key features:
- Notes feed — algorithm-driven, similar to TikTok’s For You page
- Search — many Chinese users treat XHS as a search engine for lifestyle topics, replacing Google or Baidu for personal recommendations
- Shopping — tap a product in any note to buy it directly (mainly available to users in China)
- Live streaming — creators sell products and host Q&As in real time
For international users, the shopping and live features are limited. The main draw is the content itself — especially lifestyle, beauty, and travel posts that don’t appear on Western platforms.
Who Uses Xiaohongshu?
The platform’s core audience is young, urban Chinese women — approximately 70% of users are female, and most are in their 20s and 30s. But the demographic is shifting.
Outside China, Xiaohongshu attracts:
- Chinese diaspora — users living abroad who want to stay connected to Chinese culture and communities
- Dropshippers and e-commerce sellers — sourcing product ideas, trend research, and competitor content from China’s most influential lifestyle platform
- Content creators — finding Douyin and XHS videos to repurpose for Western audiences (a practice sometimes called content arbitrage)
- “TikTok refugees” — Western users who discovered the app in early 2025 and stayed for the aesthetic content
Can People Outside China Use Xiaohongshu?
Yes. The app is available on the App Store and Google Play in most countries. You don’t need a Chinese phone number or a VPN to sign up.
A few things to know before you start:
- The interface is mostly in Chinese. There’s no built-in auto-translation. You’ll need to navigate by recognizing icons and patterns, or use your phone’s translation feature.
- Shopping doesn’t work internationally. Product links and the built-in store are designed for Chinese users. You can browse, but you can’t buy.
- Content rules apply. Xiaohongshu enforces Chinese platform regulations. Some topics that are freely discussed on Western apps are restricted.
For most international users, the app works fine for browsing and downloading content — the language barrier is the main friction point.
How to Save Videos from Xiaohongshu
Xiaohongshu’s built-in download option adds a watermark to every saved video. To get a clean copy, you need a third-party tool.
SnapVideo downloads Xiaohongshu videos and photos without watermarks — free, no account required, works on any device.
For a full walkthrough including how to find the Copy Link button on the Chinese interface, see the step-by-step guide to downloading Xiaohongshu videos.
FAQ
What does Xiaohongshu mean in English?
Xiaohongshu (小红书) translates to “Little Red Book.” The name refers to the app’s red color scheme — the founders have confirmed it’s not a reference to Mao Zedong’s book of quotations.
Is Xiaohongshu the same as RedNote?
Yes. RedNote is the international brand name Xiaohongshu uses on the App Store and Google Play. Same app, same content, same login.
Is Xiaohongshu safe to use?
The app works like any major social platform for browsing and posting content. One technical note: security researchers have found that some versions of the app transmit certain data over unencrypted connections — the same concern raised about many Chinese-made apps. For casual use and content browsing, most users treat the risk as comparable to other social apps. For sensitive use cases, that’s worth knowing.
Is Xiaohongshu free?
Yes. The app is free to download and use. Shopping features (mainly available in China) are where transactions happen.
How is Xiaohongshu different from Douyin?
Both are Chinese platforms, but they serve different content. Xiaohongshu focuses on lifestyle, beauty, travel, and shopping — more Instagram-like. Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) is entertainment-first, short-form video. For more on that distinction, see Douyin vs TikTok.
