I Downloaded Red Note as the TikTok Ban Looms. Let's Discuss

TikTok refugees are searching for ~*good vibes*~.

As the Supreme Court ruling on the TikTok ban nears, creators and users are flocking to Xiaohongshu (the Chinese app known as Red Note) — myself included. When I'm not working as Senior Editor at PEOPLE, I post baking content on TikTok for about 270,000 followers. I also consider myself to be extremely online, so it took me a total of two minutes to go from seeing a Red Note tutorial video on my FYP to opening up the app store.

The general consensus on TikTok is that users don't want to just move their scrolling to Instagram's Reels and YouTube Shorts. People are there, but they're dragging their feet about it.

Beauty influencer James Charles, who has 39.5M followers on TikTok, posted a video saying that when sharing his same content on Reels, he gets much fewer likes and less positivity. "I do not understand how the audiences on the platforms are so different," he added.

And he's not wrong. The jokes land with a thud there (if they land at all), the comments section is quieter than a library and we're proactively mourning the FYPs that we built brick by brick. So it's no wonder that Red Note is no. 1 on the top free apps list. However, based on my experience on the app, it's not totally ready for its new users.

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Related: What to Know About RedNote — the Chinese Platform Gaining Popularity Ahead of Possible TikTok Ban

For starters, my sign-up experience was rocky. I was prompted to create an account with my phone number — but I couldn't receive the verification code. I had better luck signing up with my Apple ID, but it still required a verified phone number to unlock all the settings. A number of people seemed to be having the same issue, so I gave it a day.

After about 24 hours, I received an SMS with a verification code. Only it was now expired. Still, it felt like progress. I attempted to verify my phone, received a new code almost immediately and then I was in. Let's go!

This tutorial shows you how to make sure your settings are set to English, but there's still limited translation. (I assume the developers are working as fast as they can given the influx of Americans joining.)

I picked my "interests" — all in Mandarin — based on vibes, and yet still Red Note seems to have me figured out already. My Explore page suggested videos from food creator Nick DiGiovanni, Cardi B and Lucky Blue Smith. (Note: Page verification is bound to be slow, so beware of fake celebrity accounts in the interim.)

Related: TikTok Just Got Closer to Being Banned. Here's What It Means for You

The Chinese users have been welcoming — offering tips on using the app and teaching us slang in Mandarin. I haven't posted my own content yet but when I do, I'll use their suggestion to add captions so they can consume too. Editing apps like CapCut will help with that.

I know what you're thinking: We're going from one Chinese app to another? Won't it just get banned too? Maybe, but even if that's true, it's encouraging as a creator and user to see our community organizing.

Just ask Queen of TikTok hot takes, Bethenny Frankel, who has been referring to the post-Jan. 19 time as "the after party."

"If you make your living on TikTok, do not fret. Here's why: The fish will move elsewhere... Do not worry. Stay positive," she said in a recent post. "We'll find each other and we'll do it elsewhere."

I think she's right.

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