As TikTok faces a ban in the United States, a large number of Americans are moving to an alternative Chinese social media app, RedNote. 

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The people migrating to RedNote have been calling themselves "TikTok refugees". The app has now become the most downloaded app on Apple's US App Store. 

The app, which means "Little Red Book", came to the top position on Apple's US App Store on Tuesday.

Also read: China considers selling TikTok US to Elon Musk amid ban threat: Report

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The Supreme Court justices are due to rule on a law that states that TikTok will face a ban in the US unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance by January 19. 

TikTok has been repeatedly saying that it will not sell its US business. Its lawyers warned that a ban will violate free speech protections for the platform's 170 million users in the US. 

RedNote opened its new users as the app saw 63,000 posts on the topic "TikTok refugee", where new users are taught how to navigate the app and how to use basic Chinese phrases.

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Also read: US Supreme Court likely to uphold TikTok ban amid security concerns

What is RedNote?

RedNote, founded in 2013, has a Chinese name, Xiaohongshu, which translates to Little Red Book. 

RedNote is a TikTok competitor and is widely used by young people in China, Taiwan, and other Mandarin-speaking populations. 

The app has about 300 million monthly users and has an interface that looks like a combination of TikTok and Instagram. 

Also read: US Supreme Court to to hear TikTok ban case

As seen in TikTok, RedNote also has censorship when it comes to criticism of the Chinese government.

What will happen after TikTok ban? 

If banned in the US, TikTok will not immediately disappear, however, it will require app stores to stop offering it, which could kill it over time.

Some of the social media users told the BBC that even if TikTok stays, they will still use RedNote. 

"Even if TikTok does stay I will continue to use the platform I've created on RedNote," Tennessee tech worker Sydney Crawley told the BBC, adding that she got over 6,000 followers in a day of creating her RedNote account.

Also read: Trump urges US Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban ahead of inauguration

"I will continue to try to build a following there and see what new connections, friendships, or opportunities it brings me."

(With inputs from agencies)