Seven TikTok alternatives users are flocking to as US app ban looms – from RedNote and Lemon8 to Clapper
TIKTOK is poised to shut down its app for 170million US users on Sunday, according to reports, after a long battle with lawmakers.
And the news has American users flocking to rival apps.
Chinese-owned app RedNote has seen a huge migration of US social media users in recent months.
Likewise, Lemon8 – a sort of ‘everything app’ for social media users, owned by ByteDance, the same parent company as TikTok.
But there are other alternatives.
Instagram Reels
Instagram users will be familiar with the app’s Reels function, which lets people create and flick through short videos.
It was introduced in August 2020, as TikTok was surfing its pandemic-induced boom in popularity.
Reels will be a popular alternative, with most TikTok users and creators already having a presence on Instagram.
Many influencers already had a rhythm of posting their TikToks to Instagram Reels, long before talk of the ban surfaced.
RedNote (Xiaohongshu)
RedNote, a Chinese-language social media app which is now available in English, seems to be the unspoken replacement of TikTok.
The app, called Xiaohongshu in Chinese, works in a similar way to TikTok in that users are able to post short-form videos and live-stream to other people.
More than half a million so-called ‘TikTok refugees’ have already flocked to the platform.
It features similar content to what can be found on TikTok, such as product reviews, comedy, and influencer content.
Until now, its user base has been almost exclusively based in China.
Lemon8
Another ByteDance-owned app, Lemon8, has also climbed the rankings in the Apple App Store as TikTokers look for alternatives.
The app lets users upload photos like Instagram, short videos like TikTok, and even has a section that allows users to interact with different types of content, like Pinterest.
Clapper
Short video app Clapper, which also launched in the wake of TikTok in 2020, caters to users 18 and older.
It’s like TikTok, but for adults.
The US platform saw a fourfold increase in downloads as Congress moved to pass TikTok-banning legislation last year, according to its founder, Edison Chen.
YouTube Shorts
The Shorts section of long-form video platform YouTube includes features that are similar to those of TikTok, such as live videos, collabs, easy editing tools, and playlists.
It was YouTube’s attempt to compete with TikTok in September 2020.
The most convenient part is that, like Instagram, a lot of people’s favourite creators are probably using the platform already.
Snapchat Spotlight
Snapchat’s short video section, called Spotlight, lets users see Snaps submitted by users across the world.
Many influencers have a presence on Snapchat.
Although, it doesn’t boast video editing tools to rival apps like RedNote, Lemon8 or Clapper.
Triller
The Triller app allows users to create music videos, skits, and lip-sync videos containing background music.
It is similar to the first iteration of TikTok where clips of short dance routines and lip-syncs to popular songs ruled king.
Or, the app Musical.ly, which merged into TikTok in 2018.
The platform’s top feature is its special auto-editing tool, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically stitch separate clips together.
An explosive decision
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
The “Will they, won’t they” saga of TikTok’s possible ban has been looming for some time and could come to an almighty conclusion very soon.
It’s all over fears about alleged links TikTok owner ByteDance has to the Chinese government – which the firm has long-denied.
The US Justice Department says because TikTok’s parent company is from China, it has access to user data and therefore poses “a national-security threat of immense depth and scale”.
But it looks like TikTok could planning to play hardball, opting to withdraw from the US entirely rather than go through any forced sale or other arrangement.
This would be an explosive decision for a platform that boasts some 1.6billion active users each month globally – an estimated 170million from the US alone.