TikTok alternative Lemon8: Why creators are moving to ByteDance’s other social media platform

Like TikTok, Lemon8 is owned by China’s ByteDance, the tech giant behind popular apps like video editing tool CapCut and creative editing app Hypic. Launching in the US in 2023, the app combines TikTok’s scrollable “For You” page and short video with curated Instagram and Pinterest aesthetics. While it generated some early media and user interest, the app has not become as popular as TikTok, which has more than 170 million U.S. users and just over a million daily active users in the U.S., according to data from research company LikeWeb.

However, it has risen up Apple’s free app charts over the past month. Sensory tower data shows that worldwide downloads grew by 150% in December 2024, with the US accounting for 70% of those downloads. The biggest spike occurred on December 19, which coincided with the Supreme Court’s announcement that it would hear oral arguments over the constitutionality of a federal law that could ban TikTok.

Since then, sponsored posts have appeared on TikTok, with creators describing Lemon8 as a “backup app” for TikTok users. Viral video from @strawberrywhich received almost three million views, urged viewers to download Lemon8 in case of a ban. (Although the video is labeled as sponsored, it does not reveal who funded it.) Another TikTok creator, @giannamjoycelast month posted a video encouraging its followers to create Lemon8 accounts, telling users that the integration of ByteDance’s two platforms allows TikTok users to transfer their followers to Lemon8 simply by using the same login.

The bridge between the two apps has left some users scratching their heads. “Can someone tell me what Lemon8 is and why people are following me when I don’t even have one?” one confused user wrote on TikTok in December. ByteDance began integrating the platforms’ backends last year, linking profiles and allowing data sharing by default, although users could opt out. While ByteDance claims the timing of Lemon8’s advertising surge is unrelated to TikTok’s regulatory issues, the wave of sponsored posts suggests otherwise. “Lemon8 must be replacing TikTok the way they are shoving it down our throats,” one user. published on X.

Lemon8 must be replacing TikTok the way they are shoving it down our throats.

— de$ii (@user13715171891) December 18, 2024

But there’s one catch. The law, which would wipe out TikTok’s U.S. operations unless it is sold to an approved buyer, states that the divestment or injunction requirement generally applies to platforms owned or operated by ByteDance, TikTok or their subsidiaries. Although Lemon8 is not explicitly mentioned in the legislation, it is safe to say that its future in the US is on shaky ground. Plan C, anyone?