With TikTok’s Uncertain Future, RedNote Is Poised for Growth

By Brittany Siminitz | March 03, 2025

TikTok’s clock is ticking once more. The Chinese-owned app went dark momentarily on Jan. 19, its deadline to sell to a U.S. company, but was restored to app stores on Jan. 20 by executive order.

The executive order, issued on President Trump’s first day of office, directed the attorney general not to enforce the ban for 75 days, a reprieve for TikTok and its many emotionally (and financially) invested users.

It’s hard to say if a deal will happen: Some companies have apparently expressed interested in purchasing TikTok, but there are also reports of resistance from its current owner, ByteDance. TikTok’s e-commerce expansion in other countries suggests it’s hedging its bets elsewhere—at least as a fail-safe—and other U.S. social media companies are implementing changes, too.

Social media users have also responded to a possible TikTok ban. For example, RedNote, an app that you may or may not have heard of but will likely be seeing more, saw an influx of U.S. users as the original January deadline was closing in on TikTok. Red Note—which is also Chinese-owned—even scored the top spot on the App Store in the U.S.

At press time, RedNote was No. 38 in social networking on the App Store, with a rating of 4.9 stars out of 5 and 218,000 reviews—pretty darn positive. RedNote preaches authenticity, helpfulness, and inclusivity, which are noble and necessary attributes for a good social media experience. But is RedNote capable of replacing TikTok?

One thing’s for certain: The reviews are mostly raves. “Better than TikTok!” several users exclaim, and some tout the power of connecting with social media users in China. Many more reviewers praise RedNote for its warmth and friendliness, citing the “beautiful cultural exchange” it allows and claiming they’re gladly saying goodbye to TikTok in favor of RedNote.

Multiple articles about RedNote have described it as “China’s answer to Instagram,” which poses another potential opportunity for the rising app: When enough users finally tire of Meta’s policies, could this be the one app to rule them all?

Several things stand in RedNote’s way, to take a pessimistic view. First, as previously stated, it’s Chinese-owned, the very reason TikTok is at risk in the U.S. right now. And second, if all social media users were to flock to RedNote, those reviews touting warm welcomes and positive energy would surely become a thing of the past—because on social media we can never truly have nice things, at least not all the time.

Still, I say jump on in! For small and midsize jewelers, this can be a time of exploration and fun, connecting with new users and friends and members of the industry (if they’re using RedNote) and worrying about potential opportunities for business later. As we always say, there is power in being an early adopter, and the stale, often toxic atmosphere of social media begs for a change. Let this be it, even if only for a short while.

Meanwhile, one U.S. app is preparing for the loss of TikTok, at least according to the stories going around that Instagram is considering making an entirely separate app for Reels (because that’s what everyone wants—a disjointed Instagram experience with more apps to open, à la Threads). There have been no significant reports to confirm this move by Insta, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise to hear of Meta’s efforts to step up its game and fill the TikTok-size hole, if it should come to pass.

For its part, TikTok shows it’s striving to retain its relevance up until the (possible) end: The platform created an Oscars hub for the second year in a row, gathering posts related to Sunday’s Academy Awards in one feed.