Lemon8, the application that is gaining followers due to the possible closure of TikTok in the US (and is from the same owner)

Did you hear about Lemon8 lately? If the answer is no, you are not the only person. In the middle of the imminent TikTok ban in the United Statescontent creators promote the platform’s sister app, Lemon8. This looks like an amalgam of the short videos found on TikTok and the perfect aesthetic of Instagram and Pinterest. It is not yet available in Peru.

Like its popular relative, Lemon8 is owned by ByteDancebased in China, whose collection of internationally available apps also includes the video editing app CapCut and photo and art editing Hypic. Additionally, the company operates DouyinTikTok’s Chinese sibling that follows Beijing’s strict censorship rules.

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Lemon8 launched in the United States in 2023, a few years after its first appearance in Asian markets. Although it attracted some interest from the media and users in its early days, it has not taken off as much as TikTok, which has more than 170 million users in the United States.

But in the last month, Lemon8 has been downloaded by more people, making it one of the highest-ranked free apps in the Apple App Store. Lemon8’s popularity could skyrocket even more, depending on the outcome of a hearing to be held Friday at the U.S. Supreme Court over a law requiring TikTok to cut its ties with ByteDance or face a ban in the United States.

TikTok says that plans to close the platform in the United States on January 19 if the government prevails, as it did in a lower court.

What do the creators say about Lemon8?

The influencers previously partnered with Lemon8 to promote it on TikTok. In recent weeks, many of them have hailed Lemon8 as the place to go if TikTok is banned according to federal law. Some have also recommended her through sponsored, paid posts tagged as #lemon8partner, showing a recent corporate push to generate more users.

But there is a problem. The law, which would eliminate TikTok’s operation in the United States if it is not sold to an approved buyer, states that the divestiture or ban requirement generally applies to apps owned or operated by ByteDance, TikTok or any of their subsidiaries. . That means that, Although Lemon8 and CapCut are not explicitly mentioned in the statute, their future in the United States is also in danger.

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

Lemon8’s recent TikTok ads could also be a sign that ByteDance “hope or bet” Lemon8 flies under the radar as lawmakers and regulators focus attention on TikTokEnberg said. So far, representatives of the companies have not responded to a request for comment. In this sense, there is still no clarity about what will happen to the platform. Especially considering that you have until January 19 to reach a resolution.

Lemon8 Downloads

To boost Lemon8’s user base, TikTok announced in November that creators could access a Lemon8 account with the same data they use on TikToka feature that the company says will improve your ability to publish content on both platforms. TikTok said the integration was designed to expand the “reach and engagement potential” of creators.

Like TikTok, Lemon8’s main feed features a “following” section that allows users to see content from creators they follow, and a “For You” section that recommends other posts. The new platform also sorts posts into different categories, such as relationships, wellness, and skincare.

ByteDance has not revealed the number of Lemon8 users worldwide or in the United States, but it is believed to be minuscule compared to its trend-setting sister app. Data from research company SimilarWeb indicates that Lemon8 has just over one million daily active users.

Market intelligence company Sensor Tower estimates that in December, the app experienced a significant increase in the number of global downloads—a growth of 150%— compared to an average reduction of 2% month over month over the past year. In that month, 70% of downloads occurred in the United States.

He highest number of downloads in the United States was made on December 19according to Sensor Tower. That was the 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, when lawmakers and officials in President Joe Biden’s administration raised concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over data on American users or influence public opinion in favor of the interests of Beijing, manipulating the algorithm that fills users’ feeds.

The elected president Donald Trump (who has almost 15 million followers on TIkTok) asked the Supreme Court on December 27 to pause the potential TikTok ban until he takes office and his government can seek a “political resolution” to the problem. Trump was the first to suggest that the app should be shut down during his first term as president of the United States.

Expectation of content creators

“A lot of my other creative friends, we’re all freaking out. But I stay calm,” she said. Gillian Johnsonwho financially benefited from TikTok’s live feature and rewards program, which helped creators generate greater earning potential by publishing high-quality, original content. The 22-year-old filmmaker and recent college graduate uses her TikTok earnings to fund her project equipment, including camera lenses and editing software for her short films “Gambit” and “Wake Up! “My neighbor.” Johnson noted that the idea of ​​TikTok disappearing is “hard to accept.”

Many creators have taken to TikTok to express their frustrations, grappling with the possibility that the platform they have invested so much in may soon disappear. Online communities are at risk of being disrupted, and the economic consequences could be especially devastating for those who rely primarily on TikTok and have left full-time jobs to build careers and incomes around their content.

For some, the uncertainty has led them to question whether to continue creating content at all, according to Johnson, who says he knows creators who have thought about quitting. But Nicla Bartoli, vice president of sales at The Influencer Marketing Factory, said the creators she’s interacted with haven’t been overly concerned, as news of a possible TikTok ban has surfaced repeatedly over the years, and then spread. They have calmed down.

“I think that a good number think it’s not going to happen”said Bartoli, whose agency works to match influencers and brands.

It is unclear how quickly the Supreme Court will issue a decision. But the court could move quickly to block the law from going into effect if at least five of the nine justices find it unconstitutional.

While they wait for the dust to settle in Washington, some creators are exploring alternative ways to promote themselves or their business, encouraging users to follow them on other social networks or investing more time in producing non-TikTok-related content.

Johnson says he is already planning his next move and exploring alternative opportunities. Although he hasn’t found a place like TikTok, he has started spending more time on other platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, both of which are expected to benefit financially if TikTok disappears.

According to a Goldman Sachs report, the call creator economy, which has been fueled in part by TikTok, could be worth $480 billion to 2027.

If the Supreme Court does not delay the ban, as Trump is asking, US app stores and internet service providers would be required to stop providing service to TikTok by January 19. That means new users will no longer be able to download the app on their phones when they are in that country. Existing TikTok users will still have access, but the bans — which will prevent them from updating the app — will eventually make the app “unusable,” the Justice Department has said.

In court documents, TikTok estimated that a month-long shutdown would cause it to lose a third of its daily users in the United States. The company argues that a closure, even if temporary, would cause it irreparable harm, a legal criterion used by judges to determine whether to rein in a law that is already under appeal.