If you're a regular TikTok user, you may have heard the names REDnote and Lemon8 in recent days.
Downloads of the two social media apps have shot up as American TikTok users have scrambled to find a new vertical video platform.
That is in anticipation of a TikTok ban currently being considered by the US government.
The law would ban the platform in the US if its China-based owner, ByteDance, refuses to sell off its US operation by January 19.
If the US Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional, American users would be locked out of the popular social media app.
Here's what you need to know about the two apps being heralded as TikTok alternatives as the potential ban looms.
Where is everyone going?
At this stage, there are two apps TikTok users are downloading in large numbers: Lemon8 and REDnote.
While the exact number of active users on either app is unclear, both apps shot to the top of app store charts this week.
On Tuesday, REDnote held the top spot and Lemon8 was second in the Apple App Store.
What is REDnote?
Also known as Xiaohongshu, some consider REDnote to be a knock-off of TikTok.
It's owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology.
REDnote's app store blurb describes it as "a dynamic lifestyle platform for young people to share experiences, explore a real, beautiful, and diverse world, and find the lifestyle they desire".
American TikTokers have called on their followers to download REDnote as a way of spiting both the US government and social media company Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook.
Meta reportedly employed a Republican lobbying firm in 2022 to plant negative stories about its competitor TikTok.
At the time, Meta said it was appropriate for TikTok to be the subject of scrutiny given its popularity.
Chinese users already on the platform have explained they tend to use the app as a kind of reference book for restaurant and activity recommendations, but the content offering is likely to become more diverse if American users make the jump over in big numbers.
What is Lemon8?
It's billed as a lifestyle community-focused app where users can edit and share photos and videos.
"Lemon8 offers a space where you can connect, inspire and support one another," its Google Play listing reads.
The app first launched in Japan in 2020 but has slowly rolled out to various other countries.
Currently, Lemon8 is not available in Australia on either the Apple App Store or Google Play.
While it features a scrollable For You page similar to TikTok's, it also offers user experiences similar to those of Pinterest and Instagram.
Also owned by ByteDance, influencers have described Lemon8 as the "back-up app" and it appears to be where the company hopes disenfranchised TikTok users will go under a possible ban.
Since Lemon8's launch in the US in 2023, American TikTok users have reported being "bombarded" with ads for the platform, in what some believe is an attempt to quietly push users to download the app.
Lemon8 allows users to migrate their TikTok account handles and data when setting up accounts on the platform.
Could these apps be banned as well?
REDnote and Lemon8 may be topping the app charts, but their success could be short-lived.
In Lemon8's case, its ownership will likely mean it's subject to the same law that threatens to wipe out TikTok in the US.
While it's not explicitly named in the bill that would ban TikTok, the legislation does extend to "any other applications or service development provided by ByteDance".
Christopher Krepich, the communications director for the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, told Forbes that stipulation meant Lemon8 would also be banned.
It's perhaps another reason REDnote is such an appealing prospect for those looking for a new platform.
Are there any American-owned alternatives?
The most established platforms Americans will have to choose from are Instagram and YouTube.
Both offer their own take on the short-form vertical video format with Reels and Shorts, respectively.
But for many, supporting Meta is off the table and some are even planning to go as far as holding a week-long boycott of all its platforms.
Looking further afield, there are a handful of other American-owned apps that appear to offer vertical video experiences similar to TikTok but for some reason or another have so far fallen short.
That includes Triller, owned by Hollywood film financier Ryan Kavanaugh's Proxima Media.
Triller has for years attempted to break into the vertical video market and capitalise on TikTok's uncertain future, even going so far as to partner with celebrities Chance the Rapper, Post Malone and Kevin Hart.
But a look at its app store reviews indicates many users have been left wanting with their in-app experience.
The vacuum left by a TikTok lock-out could also leave space for the development of apps not yet created.
