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January 23, 2025
TikTok is facing another big test as it could be banned from the United States, one of its biggest markets in the next few days. The US government looks intent on making this happen, even though the platform has millions of users from the country. They feel that TikTok is not safe for use in the region, and have repeatedly alleged TikTok for having deep connections with the Chinese government.
The news of TikTok ban has already got thousands to just ship, and guess what, most of these users are looking towards China, for another short-video app called RedNote. But the short video market has plenty of other options and we are here to tell you everything about this Chinese app and other alternatives to TikTok and people in the US can switch to if and when the ban becomes official.
The biggest name making the news as a TikTok alternative is an app called Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. The platform caters to short videos for people in China and has been in the market since 2013, which is before TikTok even existed.
The biggest takeaway of RedNote is that you can enjoy the short videos from other people, create your own and also indulge in some online shopping through these avenues. Quite understandably, RedNote is called the Instagram of China for its identical features to the namesake and it targets the youth and women audience in the region. The TikTok ban has got people in the US interested in RedNote, which has suddenly jumped to the top of App Store charts in less than a week.
The US-based platform owned by Meta is the obvious contender to benefit from the TikTok ban in the region. Instagram Reels is the ideal TikTok alternative that has been around since TikTok was banned in India in 2020. Reels is far more engaging as a short video platform, as it works through the main Instagram app, where you can send direct messages, create stories that disappear, and much more. Like TikTok, you can use songs, edit videos and even change their speed within the app on Reels.
YouTube Shorts
When you talk about short videos, YouTube Short is an obvious choice, and once again, its origin in the US means more people might consider using it if the TikTok ban goes through. Shorts is also linked to the main YouTube app which means you don’t need to download another app or login/create a new account.
Shorts was also introduced around the time when TikTok was banned in India a few years back and is now catering to billions of views. Being part of YouTube means, Shorts allows you to use the in-house music catalogue for the content, and use advanced AI tools available to them for free.
Likee
Moving beyond the popular apps, you have Likee which itself has over 100 million users and lets people share videos and set up live streams which is another big avenue for viewership online. Likee borrows features from apps like Snapchat and YouTube, offering AR filters and a large music catalogue, respectively.
Triller
This is an intriguing option for TikTok fanatics who don’t want to lose their content on the platform when they won’t be able to use the short video app. Triller started its journey as a TikTok rival but now it lets you transfer videos from TikTok to this app. This platform caters to users who like music and videos.
