Spend a few minutes on TikTok right now and you'll see that it's filled with goodbyes, heartfelt thank-yous, considerable anger at US politicians, and a lot of chatter about something called Red Note.

Many call the app “Red Note.” “I don’t really care if I’m using a Chinese app at all,” Lee said. “It’s like a place for me to escape reality. And if it’s making me feel good ...

But another unlikely challenger has emerged: the Chinese-owned Xiaohongshu, a social media app often referred to as Red Note in English. While Red Note had previously catered almost exclusively to ...