TikTok users’ attempt to migrate to Chinese app RedNote isn’t going so well

American TikTok users ignore this decision of the US government On TikTok by grudgingly joins Red Note, another Chinese social media app (aka Xiaohongshu), sending it to the top of the US App Store on Monday. Unfortunately, many of those who have already switched have faced problems with their accounts being suspended and banned for various reasons.

At first, RedNote seemed like a promising alternative to ByteDance’s TikTok in terms of the app’s functionality, as it focuses on short-form video feeds and creative content. However, the app is not a standalone replacement for TikTok, as it is also intended to serve as a Chinese Yelp or Google alternative, offering local recommendations and nearby connections in addition to the video feed.

Meanwhile, some users who have joined RedNote include a popular TikToker, an entrepreneur and a former Bravo star Bethany Frankel – After their first post on the Chinese app, they got themselves punished or kicked out entirely. According to various reports from TikTok users, these bans were for a number of reasons.

Some were penalized because their videos displayed the TikTok watermark, which could be a problem with RedNote, they said.

Others talked about or shared screenshots of account suspension notices for which they were banned Xiaohongshu is violating the Community Guidelines. According to user reports, some of these incidents were due to verification issues. When the new arrival tried To verify their accounts using US-based phone numbers (an option available in the app), they didn’t get their codes so they tried again many times. This activity led to the account suspensions presumably due to suspicious bot activity.

Some suspensions have no obvious explanation.

For example, a TikTok user claims their account is frozen after his first post with a picture of cinnamon rolls. Other he joked They must have been banned for “liking the thirst trap too much”. While TechCrunch has not independently verified or confirmed the reason for each reported ban, there are enough complaints from TikTok users to suggest that this is a real problem people are facing.

Part of the problem is that users join the app but can’t read the Community Guidelines, which are written in Mandarin. (Although there is a way to switch the language to English in RedNote’s app, as an English speaker it’s hard to know how to find this option because it requires navigating through the app’s settings).

Several TikTok creators said they were working challenge the banshowever, it is unclear what the results of these efforts will be.

Meanwhile, every other app competing with TikTok prepares a show for its usersalthough most likely the creators It will go back to Meta and Google-managed appsgiven the need to monetize their audience at scale.