It holds the top position among the most downloaded social networks in the Apple stores in the United States. Shuang is hooked on an app that many of its followers believe ironically adopted the name of a popular red-covered book full of doctrinal quotes from the founding father of communist China.

In the days leading up to a proposed US government ban on the social media platform TikTok, American users have turned to another Chinese-owned app, Xiaohongshu.

As Supreme Court justices ponder the future of TikTok in the United States, a growing number of American social media users have responded by moving to an unlikely alternative: Xiaohongshu, a hugely popular social media app in China.

After the US Supreme Court signaled it was likely to uphold a law banning the popular TikTok social media app, a reported 700,000 new users flooded onto the Chinese app, Xiaohongshu

Some say they joined Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book,” to spite the US government after a ban on TikTok became more likely.

The social media app Xiaohongshu, literally “Little Red Book” but often called RedNote, has seen a sudden influx in American users as a TikTok ban looms.

Users who have the TikTok app on their phone will still be able to access it after Jan. 19. However, because the ban would prevent Apple and Google from providing the app with necessary updates, TikTok would quickly break down and become unusable, leading Americans to look for an alternative app.

By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Users of the Chinese social media app RedNote welcomed "TikTok refugees" from the United States with selfies and messages on Wednesday, as Beijing said it encouraged

TikTok refugees flocked to Chinese platform Xiaohongshu on Monday, where users greeted them with offers of Mandarin lessons and jokes about spying.