ByteDance’s Lemon8 gains traction amid threat of TikTok ban as creators push app

Heard a lot about Lemon8 lately? You are not the only one.

Amid an impending US ban on TikTok, content creators have been pushing the platform’s sister app.

Lemon8 resembles a mix of the types of short-form videos found on TikTok and the picture-perfect aesthetics of Instagram and Pinterest.

Like its popular counterpart, Lemon8 is owned by China-based ByteDance, the collection of apps available internationally also includes video editing app CapCut and photo and art editing app Hypic.

In addition, the company operates Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese sister that follows Beijing’s strict censorship rules.

Lemon8 launched in the US in 2023, a few years after it first appeared in Asian markets.

Although it attracted some media and user interest in its early days, the app hasn’t taken off as much as TikTok, which has more than 170 million users in the US.

But more people have downloaded the app in the past month, making it one of the top-ranking free apps in Apple’s app store. Lemon8’s popularity could rise further depending on the outcome of a Supreme Court hearing on Friday on a law requiring TikTok to cut ties with ByteDance or face a US ban.

TikTok says it plans to shut down the platform in the US by January 19 if the government wins, as it did in a lower court.

What do creators say about Lemon8?

Influencers have previously partnered with Lemon8 to promote the lesser-known app on TikTok. In recent weeks, many have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned under federal law. Some have also recommended it through paid sponsored posts tagged #lemon8partner, indicating a recent push by the corporation to generate more users.

But there is a catch. The law, which would wipe out TikTok’s US operation unless it is sold to an approved buyer, says the sale or ban requirement applies generally to apps that are owned or operated by ByteDance, TikTok or any of them. subsidiaries. This means that even though Lemon8 and CapCut are not explicitly mentioned in the statute, their future in the US is also in jeopardy.

Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at market research company Emarketer, noted that creators recommending Lemon8 may not be aware of the potential implications for other ByteDance apps because the law does not identify them.

Lemon8’s recent TikTok ads could also be a sign that ByteDance is “hoping or betting” Lemon8 slips through the cracks as lawmakers and regulators turn their attention to TikTok, Enberg said. Representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lemon8 Downloads

To grow Lemon8’s user base, TikTok announced in November that creators will be able to sign into a Lemon8 account with the same account they use on TikTok, a feature the company says will increase their ability to post content. TikTok said the integration was designed to expand the “reach and engagement potential” of creators.

Like TikTok, Lemon8’s main feed features a “followed” section that lets users view content from creators they follow, and an “For You” section that recommends other posts. The newer platform also sorts posts into different categories, such as relationships, wellness and skin care.

ByteDance has not disclosed the number of global or US users on Lemon8, which is believed to be small compared to its trend-setting sister app.

Data from research firm SimilarWeb shows Lemon8 has just over 1 million daily active users in the U.S. According to market intelligence company Sensor Tower, the app had 12.5 million monthly active users globally as of Dec. 24.

Sensor Tower estimates that the app saw a significant increase in global downloads in December – a 150% increase – compared to an average drop of 2% month-on-month last year. The US accounted for 70% of the month’s downloads.

The largest number of downloads in the US took place on December 19, according to Sensor Tower. That was a day after the Supreme Court said it would hear oral arguments this week on the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok.

The law was passed with bipartisan support last year after lawmakers and Biden administration officials expressed concern that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data or sway public opinion toward Beijing’s interests by manipulating the algorithm that populates it. user resources.

President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on December 27 to halt a potential ban on TikTok until he is inaugurated and his administration can pursue a “political solution” to the issue.