While the threat of TikTok's ban continues to loom, ByteDance is promoting the Lemon8 app as an alternative, while RedNote is generating interest. However, the same law may apply to all platforms owned by the Chinese company.
According to the New York Post, on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court discussed arguments in a case that will determine the future of TikTok in the country. While many users and content creators hope that the ban will not take effect and that they can continue using the app, it seems that the judges are inclined to approve the law, which could gradually bring an end to its operations. As the decision nears, some of the approximately 170 million TikTok users in the U.S. are starting to wonder: Where will everyone go instead?
"There are talks about Lemon8, a visual social media app primarily focused on lifestyle content, owned by the same Chinese company that owns TikTok. The app, which seems like a combination of Instagram and Pinterest, was first launched in Japan in 2020 and gradually expanded to other countries.
In 2023, while members of Congress in Washington were questioning TikTok's CEO, ByteDance quietly pushed creators to join Lemon8, offering potential financial incentives. However, due to its ownership, the platform may be subject to the same law threatening TikTok.
In recent days, there has been a rise in interest in RedNote, a Chinese social media app also known as Xiaohongshu. The platform is described by some users as a copycat version of TikTok and is sometimes compared to Pinterest and Instagram.
If both Lemon8 and RedNote are banned, TikTok users will largely remain with older social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, which have added features in recent years to compete with TikTok.
For example, Instagram launched its vertical video feature, Reels, in 2020 in response to ByteDance's platform. Initially, some users felt that Reels didn't provide enough, but its vertical video format visually resembles TikTok's, and some users are already sharing TikTok content there.
YouTube also tried its luck and introduced YouTube Shorts in the same year, allowing the posting of short videos up to one minute. Of course, there's also YouTube's traditional video format.
Over the past year, TikTok has focused on longer videos, which could prepare creators and users for a transition to content suited more for YouTube than for YouTube Shorts.
Yumna Jawad, a recipe developer and content creator known as Feel Good Foodie, told the New York Times that she feels ready for the possibility of TikTok being banned in the U.S., as she made sure not to rely too heavily on one platform for her work.
"I've worked with Flipboard. I'm trying to understand Lemon8 and Threads," said Jawad, 42, from Grand Rapids, Michigan. "There's always a new platform, and I'm always open to trying new things."
The readiness of users of the popular app, especially business owners, may also affect TikTok's Israeli offices. Currently, the future of the company in Israel is "unclear," a company insider told Ma'ariv, adding that due to the fact that many of the company's clients are from the U.S., the future of the employees and the continuation of the offices in Israel is "uncertain."