Duolingo reports a 216% surge in US users learning Chinese following the TikTok ban and shift to RedNote.
As the U.S. prepares for a potential TikTok ban, American users are increasingly turning to Duolingo to learn Chinese, driven by their adoption of the Chinese social app RedNote (formerly Xiaohongshu). With the ban set to take effect on January 19—unless blocked by the Supreme Court—TikTok will be removed from U.S. app stores and disabled unless users install a VPN.
Rather than circumventing the ban, over 700 million TikTok users have migrated to RedNote, sparking unexpected cultural exchanges, including requests from Chinese users for help with English homework. While some American users have encountered technical issues or account bans due to RedNote’s community guidelines, the shift highlights the demand for China’s unique social networking experiences, which U.S. companies have struggled to replicate.
The migration also raises questions about U.S. users’ concerns over Chinese data collection—one of the main reasons behind TikTok’s ban. However, the rapid adoption of RedNote suggests many users are unfazed.
Since RedNote’s default language is Mandarin, Duolingo has seen a surge in American users taking crash courses in Chinese. The platform reports a 216% increase in Mandarin learners compared to last year, with a noticeable spike in mid-January as RedNote gained traction. Additionally, Duolingo’s user surveys show a growing number of new learners citing TikTok as their reason for joining the app.
“Oh, so NOW you’re learning Mandarin,” Duolingo quipped in an X post on Tuesday. The company also shared a TikTok video promoting its app for learning Chinese. The short clip featured its green owl mascot at an airport, seemingly en route to China, with overlaid text reading, “Me because I’d rather move to China & learn Mandarin on Duolingo.” The video has since racked up over 500,000 likes. Another recent video, teaching Mandarin phrases for “TikTok refugees,” has garnered more than 620,000 likes.
App intelligence firm Appfigures reports that surging interest in Duolingo’s Mandarin courses has also driven a spike in app downloads.
According to the firm, Duolingo saw a 36% increase in U.S. downloads across the App Store and Google Play as of January 3—suggesting that users may have experimented with other Chinese social apps before the mass migration to RedNote later in the month.
Just a week ago, Duolingo ranked in the 40s among Top Apps (excluding games) and Top Overall (including games). Now, it has climbed to No. 22 in Top Overall and No. 20 in Top Apps.
