This photograph in Paris on January 15, 2025, shows logos of Chinese-owned mobile applications Xiaohongshu (L) and TikTok. In the days leading up to a proposed United-States government ban on the

RedNote is a foreign-owned app, and experts warn that it could be attacked by the same law that is now banning TikTok.

Whatever US politicians were hoping for, what they got was a huge increase in users signing up to Duolingo to learn Chinese and American users flooding Chinese apps.

"First of all, the Chinese are so nice, they're so sweet and so welcoming. They've over here teaching us Mandarin."

All signs point to TikTok shutting down in the United States on Sunday due to the ban that's set to go into effect after the platform failed to find a new

Can RedNote sustain its rapid rise to success with US users? Even with a TikTok ban and Duolingo boost, it faces plenty of headwinds.

Despite the massive popularity of RedNote in the United States and the different corners of the globe, a majority of its users are still mainly speaking Chinese, and this language barrier has Duolingo racking up its numbers.

The company confirmed to CNBC that there's been a 216% increase in Mandarin learners using the app compared to a year earlier. For context, Spanish, one of the most popular languages on the app, has seen a 40% increase over the same period, Duolingo said.

I almost, like, don’t know how to define myself without TikTok,” content creator Ayman Chaudhary sighed, reflecting the consternation of

Creators and users are searching for new platforms like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and other alternatives.

Millions of Americans this week downloaded the Chinese social networking app RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, as a possible U.S. prohibition of TikTok loomed.