'TikTok refugees' from US migrating to RedNote are using Duolingo to learn Chinese
RedNote is a Chinese social media app founded in 2013 and most of its 300 million users are Chinese. TikTok refugees who are joining RedNote are using the language learning app Duolingo to learn Mandarin.
Xiaohongshu, aka RedNote, a popular Chinese social media app, has been the biggest beneficiary of a possible ban of TikTok in the US, which could come into effect in another three days. TikTok users in the US are scrambling to find alternatives to the short-video platform, and RedNote, which was founded in 2013, has become the first choice for many.
CREDIT: REUTERS
RedNote's language problem
But there is a problem¡ªRedNote is a Chinese app, and most of its 300 million users are Chinese. This hasn't deterred the so-called TikTok refugees from joining RedNote. And how are they overcoming the language barrier? There is an app for that too. Duolingo, one of the world's largest language-learning apps, is also benefiting from the TikTok crisis.
CREDIT: DUOLINGO
Duolingo to learn Mandarin
Duolingo has seen a massive spike in downloads and users in the US learning Mandarin. According to Duolingo, the app has seen roughly 216% growth in new Mandarin learners in the US compared to this time last year, with a sharp spike in mid-January as RedNote¡¯s adoption took off.
Learning Mandarin out of spite? You're not alone.
¡ª Duolingo (@duolingo) January 15, 2025
We¡¯ve seen a ~216% growth in new Chinese (Mandarin) learners in the US compared to this time last year. https://t.co/9hzwBxfTgD pic.twitter.com/qWM9f5oFYA
Duolingo's ¡°How did you hear about us¡± survey has also seen an increase in people selecting ¡°TikTok¡± as their response.
RedNote is not a free speech paradise
In recent days, nearly half a million of the 170 million TikTok users in the US have reportedly joined RedNote. While the TikTok refugees have been welcomed by the Chinese users there, it seems like all is not well with the Chinese app.
CREDIT: REUTERS
According to reports, like other Chinese apps, RedNote is also censoring anti-China and anti-CCP content on the platform. One of the most notable cases that has surfaced is of the Tank Man image. One of the world's most iconic images, showing an unidentified Chinese man standing in front of a column of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5, 1989, has been censored from almost all Chinese platforms. According to reports, photos of Tank Man posted on RedNote have been blocked for violating community standards.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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