NIX Solutions: TikTok Ban Spurs Mandarin Learning

American TikTok users are increasingly learning Mandarin on Duolingo and switching to the Chinese social app RedNote ahead of the looming TikTok ban. The U.S. law, which is set to go into effect on January 19 unless stopped by the Supreme Court, would remove TikTok from American app stores and prevent the app from running on users’ devices unless they install a VPN client.

However, instead of trying to circumvent the ban, more than 700 million TikTok users have switched to the social video platform RedNote (also known as Xiaohongshu), sparking a surprising cultural exchange between citizens of the two countries — not to mention a slew of requests for American users to help with Chinese English homework. While some TikTok refugees have encountered technical issues signing up for RedNote, and others have been promptly removed for violating community guidelines, the goal of this move from one Chinese app to another is to send a signal to the U.S. government and potential TikTok competitors like Meta that there is demand for the type of social media China is building — and that American companies are merely imitating.

NIX Solutions

The switch also serves as a test of sorts to see if American users are worried about Chinese companies harvesting their personal data for nefarious purposes — one of the key factors cited in TikTok’s ban. Many apparently aren’t, as this migration demonstrates. However, because Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu/RedNote is aimed at a Chinese audience, the app’s default language is Mandarin. This has prompted many American users of the language-learning app Duolingo to take a crash course in Mandarin.

Duolingo’s Mandarin Surge and Cultural Exchange

Duolingo says new users of its Mandarin-language learning program in the U.S. have grown about 216% year-over-year, with a noticeable spike in mid-January when RedNote began rolling out, adds NIX Solutions. The company also reports a corresponding increase in the number of people answering “TikTok” in the “How did you hear about us” survey for new users. Duolingo even posted a video on TikTok promoting the use of its app to learn Chinese. The short clip shows the company’s green owl mascot at an airport heading to China, accompanied by the caption “this is me, because I’d rather move to China and learn Mandarin on Duolingo.” The video has nearly half a million likes so far. Another recent video, teaching Mandarin phrases to “TikTok refugees,” has already surpassed 620,000 likes.

According to Appfigures, Duolingo downloads in the U.S. App Store and Google Play increased by 36% on January 3 — an early sign that users may have tried other Chinese social apps before RedNote’s surge later in the month. A week ago, Duolingo ranked 40th among Top Apps (excluding games) and in the Top Overall (including games). It currently ranks 22nd in Top Overall and 20th in Top Apps. We’ll keep you updated as more TikTok users migrate to RedNote and continue to boost Mandarin-learning trends in the U.S.