Marcus Robinson, a 29-year-old fashion designer, created a Red Note account to share his thrifting adventures and promote his clothing company, P-13. He previously had accrued 21,000 followers on TikTok, and estimates that 40% of his brand’s sales came from that app. “I thought I was going to keep building and make a living ultimately,” he says.

I picked my "interests" — all in Mandarin — based on vibes, and yet still Red Note seems to have me figured out already. My Explore page suggested videos from food creator Nick DiGiovanni, Cardi B and Lucky Blue Smith. (Note: Page verification is bound to be slow, so beware of fake celebrity accounts in the interim.)

The US ban on TikTok saw millions of users – predominantly Americans – flock to another Chinese social media pla