RedNote Might Be Some TikTok Creators' Best Shot at Keeping Their Content Going

With the end of TikTok looming ahead for the most dedicated TikTok users and creators, the question of “where next” was heavy on their minds. Luckily, they found out about the existence of RedNote, a similar short form video platform that can be downloaded to phones in a pinch. But who owns RedNote? Because it’s so similar to TikTok, there are concerns that the Supreme Court could also take issue with this app.

Unlike TikTok, though, RedNote’s first language is Mandarin rather than English. And until now, most of the users were primarily from China. Still, because of the similarities between the two apps, some have wondered who owns RedNote and if they have or had anything to do with TikTok at some point. It's hard to deny the similarities.

RedNote is owned by Xingyin Information Technology, ltd. a company based in Shanghai. The company developed and released the app in 2013, and it became a fast growing social media platform in China. Since TikTok was banned in China in 2020, RedNote rose to prominence even further as a sort of stand-in type of app. Much like it appears to be doing for American and English-speaking users now.

Since its conception, RedNote has managed to rake in billions of dollars in revenue. Or, according to the more exact (or close to it) numbers from the Financial Times, more than $17 billion. RedNote, called Xiaohongshu in China, reportedly snagged the attention of venture capital firm DST Global, according to the outlet. The firm was founded by Israeli investor Yuri Milner.

Although RedNote and TikTok have a similar style, and even a catchy one-word name for English-speaking users to remember, they are not owned by the same company. The Chinese company ByteDance owns TikTok. The same company acquired Musical.ly in 2017 and changed it to TikTok.

Besides having totally different companies backing them, TikTok and RedNote have other differences that set them apart from one another. For starters, the guidelines for posting on each app include importance placed on different things. In the fine print for RedNote, it mentions having “empathy” when sharing things in videos that show off personal wealth. The fine print also advises against using influence as a top creator to change the minds or opinions of others.

It also says that users should “sexually suggestive content.” That’s the same for TikTok, but has not always been strongly enforced across the board. And the comparison of RedNote being a combination of Instagram and Pinterest with videos sets it apart from TikTok enough.

Clearly, there are some similarities that might confuse some users about which company owns what, but RedNote and TikTok are not owned by the same company.