As a TikTok ban looms in the United States, young Americans are flocking to the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu as “TikTok refugees” in search of a similar experience. The app has risen to the top spot on the iOS and Google Play stores in the US in recent days as users prepare for TikTok to be banned on national security grounds from Sunday unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divests its ownership.

As the threat of a TikTok ban looms, some U.S. TikTok users are flocking to Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu – making it the top downloaded app in the U.S. The self-described "TikTok refugees" landed on Xiaohongshu as an alternative to TikTok.

Chinese social apps Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 have soared to the top two spots on Apple's iPhone charts ahead of the U.S.'s impending TikTok ban.