The owners of the TikTok social network, the Chinese company ByteDance, are investing significant resources in promoting their other development in the US — the Lemon8 social network. This is happening against the backdrop of a possible ban on the TikTok social network in the US.
The owners of the TikTok social network, the Chinese company ByteDance, are investing significant resources in promoting their other development in the US — the Lemon8 social network. This is happening against the backdrop of a possible ban on the TikTok social network in the US.
According to Newsweek, Lemon8 combines the visual aesthetic of Instagram with the accessibility of Pinterest, and the new social network is seeing a sharp increase in downloads.
The publication recalls that Lemon8 was launched in the US in 2023, a few years after its Asian debut.
The social network has seen a significant rise in download rankings in the Apple App Store in the past month. US users accounted for 70% of Lemon8 downloads in December, and the number of US users has increased by 150%.
Newsweek reports that the owners of both social networks are considering Lemon8 as a backup for TikTok if it is banned. Moreover, ByteDance recently integrated the TikTok and Lemon8 accounts, making cross-posting and engagement easier.
Lemon8 offers categories like fashion, wellness, and food, as well as a «For You» section with TikTok-style algorithms.
Despite its rapid growth, Lemon8's user base remains modest. According to SimilarWeb, the social network has only 1 million daily active users.
The publication adds that another ByteDance app called CapCut is also gaining attention amid uncertainty over TikTok’s fate. It is a video editing platform popular for its user-friendly tools and integration with TikTok, which allows creators to create content for different platforms.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the TikTok ban this Friday. If upheld, the ban would take effect on January 19, potentially sending content creators and companies dependent on the TikTok platform scrambling for alternatives, and Lemon8 could be one such alternative.
Previously, dev.ua described the backstory of a possible TikTok ban in the US, and why Donald Trump could save the Chinese social network.
Interestingly, in 2023, the Governor of the State of Montana in the United States, Greg Gianforte, signed a law not only banning TikTok in the state, but also imposing similar sanctions against Lemon8.
