Since the short-video platform TikTok arrived on the scene in 2016, there have been concerns about data privacy, particularly in the United States. These same worries were revisited in the news after TikTok users began migrating to the Chinese app REDNote in early January 2025 in anticipation of TikTok’s ban in the US.
As someone who has lived in China and used Chinese apps for over 10 years, I won’t tell you that these worries are totally without merit. Personally, I have never had anything bad happen to me while using WeChat, Douyin (China’s TikTok), or Taobao; however, I am not a cybersecurity professional, so I am always open to doing more research to gain a better understanding.
This being said, I can tell you firsthand that any international users on Rednote should be aware that their content or profile picture is at risk of being copied by another person. In the weeks since some TikTokers have started posting on Rednote, I have seen a few creators making videos explaining to their followers that they are the official account, not imposters.
Before the influx of TikTok users to Rednote earlier this month, it was already very easy to find videos downloaded from TikTok or Instagram on Rednote with Chinese subtitles.
While some people are fine with this publicity—you may not be. In this article, I will explain how to contact Rednote to make a complaint.
How to Report Someone on Rednote
From my experience, filing a claim on Rednote is a fairly simple process. In fact, when I tagged someone who had copied my own profile picture last month, the REDNote staff in China was quick to take action.
If you find yourself in a similar situation and need to report a misdemeanor, you can start by going to the profile you want to report.
Then select the settings icon.
On the bottom of the page, you’ll see a triangular icon with an exclamation mark in the middle. This is the report button.
Then you need to select your reason for reporting the account.
I have seen different menus pop up on my phone and in other videos. Therefore, I decided to translate as many of the options I’ve found online in case your version differs from mine.
In the next sections, I will break down each category and provide a translated list of the options to ensure your complaint is filed correctly. The titles of each section will align with the translated terms above.
Vulgar Complaints on Rednote
If you select “Vulgar,” the following page will appear.
The options are translated as follows:
- 疑似色情服务: Pornographic Services
- 传播色情资源: Spreading Pornographic Resources
- 色情低俗交友: Communicating About Vulgar or Pornography
- 性暗示动作: Sexually Suggestive Actions
- 裸露大尺度: Nudity
- 诱导色情低俗讨论: Promoting Vulgar Conversation
- 封面标题低俗博眼球: Vulgar Cover
- 其他低俗内容: Other Vulgar Content
Political Complaints on Rednote
- 危害政治安全: Endangers Political Safety
- 危害经济安全: Endangers Economic Safety
- 危害文化安全: Endangers Cultural Safety
- 危害社会安全: Endangers Societal Safety
- 危害国家安全: Endangers National Security
- 其他涉政争议: Other Political Content
Fraud Complaints on Rednote
- 兼职诈骗: Part-time Job Scam
- 冒充他人诈骗： Impersonating Someone Else
- 交易诈骗：Trading Fraud
- 无资质金融诈骗: Unqualified Financial Advice Fraud
- 相亲交友诈骗: Dating Scam
- 虚假生活诈骗: Presenting a Fake Life
- 其他类型诈骗: Other Type of Fraud
Racism Complaints on Rednote
- 国家&地域对立与歧视: Discrimination Based on National or Regional Conflicts
- 人种&民族对立与歧视: Discrimination Based on Race or Ethnicity
- 文化对立与歧视: Discrimination Based on Culture
- 其他种族歧视: Other Racial Discrimination
Advertisement Complaints on Rednote
There are four complaint types related to “Advertisement.”
- 虚假宣传/夸大功效: False Advertising/Exaggerated Efficiency
- 编故事/暗广等: Fabricating Stories/Covert Advertising
- 站外倒流: Redirecting Traffic Offline
- 其他低差广告: Other Advertising Problems
Inciting Violence Complaints on Rednote
- 谩骂攻击: Verbal Assault
- 嘲讽阴阳: Mockery
- 挑起男女对立: Provoking Gender Hatred
- 煽动粉丝对立, 饭圈乱象: Inciting Fans to Fight One Another
- 其他不友善内容: Other Unfriendly Content
Flagging Fake Content on Rednote
- 网络谣言/虚假新闻: Internet Rumors/Fake News
- 医疗误导信息: Medical Misinformation
- 伪科学: Pseudoscience
- 封建迷信: Outdated Beliefs
- 其他不实信息: Other Fake Information
Flagging Fake Items on Rednote
- 售卖商品涉政涉暴: Selling Items Related to Politics or Violence
- 售卖商品涉黄低俗: Selling Pornographic or Vulgar Products
- 店铺无资质售卖: Store is Not Qualified to Sell
- 售卖假货/山寨/低质商品: Selling Fake/Copycats/Low-Quality Items
- 商品信息虚假宣传: Product is Advertised Falsely
- 引导站外交易: Asking Customers to Buy Elsewhere
- 黄牛: Account is Reselling Items at Inflated Prices
- 盗图宣传卖货:Stealing Photos to Promote Sales
- 其他违规售卖: Other Fake Item Scams
Flagging Illegal Content on Rednote
- 违禁品或官制品: Contraband & Government-regulated Items
- 犯罪行为: Criminal Behavior
- 违法服务: Criminal Services
- 违规交易: Illegal Transactions
- 高风险金融活动: High-risk Financial Activities
- 赌博: Gambling
- 其他违法违规行为: Other Illegal Behavior
Flagging Illegal Industry Activities on Rednote
- 恶意测评: Malicious Reviews
- 恶意营销矩阵: Malicious Marketing
- 其他: Other
Tagging Content Involving Minors on Rednote
- 涉未成年色情低俗: Contains Underage Pornography
- 侵害未成年隐私: Not Respecting the Privacy of Minors
- 涉未成年不当行为: Inappropriate Behavior Involving Minors
- 网络欺凌/校园霸凌: Cyberbullying/School Bullying
- 血腥恐怖动画: Bloody Horror Animation
- 其他侵害未成年身心: Other Violations of Minors’ Physical & Mental Health
Flagging Public Order Violations on Rednote
- 价值观不良导向: Misleading Values
- 影响公共秩序: Influences Public Order
- 其他违反公德秩序: Other Violations of Public Morality
Flagging Content That Endangers Public Safety on Rednote
- 危险地点打卡: Dangerous Location Check-in
- 违反交通规则: Traffic Violations
- 自残/自杀: Self-harm
- 其他危险行为: Other Dangerous Behavior
Impersonation Complaints on Rednote
This menu is different from the other ones because it asks who is getting impersonated.
- 冒充政府机构/媒体: Impersonating Government Entity/Media Outlet
- 冒充专业人士: Impersonating a Professional
- 冒充企业: Impersonating a Company
- 冒充个人: Impersonating an Individual
- 笔记抄袋: Copying & Reposting a Note
- 冒充新闻当事人: Impersonating a News Reporter
After selecting, you will be taken to the following interface.
On this page, Rednote asks about your relationship with the person or entity that has been impersonated.
- 我是被冒充者: I am the one who was impersonated
- 我是被冒充者授权代理人: I represent the one who was impersonated
- 我是路人/粉丝: I am a fan of the one who was impersonated
Whatever option you select, the following interfaces will appear sequentially.
There are three guidelines on this page:
- If the impersonator has a Rednote account, input their Rednote account number and name.
- If the impersonator does not have a Rednote account but has an account on another website, paste a link to the user’s page on that other website. Upload a screenshot of the account’s page too.
- If there is no account attached to the impersonator, input their name and code.
Reporting Cyberbullying on Rednote
For the above options, you are probably better off going with the “Report” option given the language barrier. If you would like to use the other options, we here at Nanjing Marketing Group can help with this.
If you tap “Add User,” it will ask you to provide the Rednote ID and account name of the bully.
Tagging “Other” Complaints on Rednote
- 诱导关注，点赞: Attracting Likes & Attention Through Illegal Behavior
- 标题党，夸张博眼球 : Clickbait
- 血腥/暴力/恐怖: Blood/Violence/Horror
- 消极/负面: Negativity
- 其他违规: Other Infractions
Where Did the Infraction on Rednote Take Place?
After making the above selections, you will be taken to the following interface.
This interface asks you where the infraction occurred. The below options are given.
- 用户本人: User (a user committed the infraction)
- 用户资料: User Material
- 笔记: Note
- 自信: Personal Message
- 其他（专辑，瞬间，等): Other
Provide Evidence
The last stage in tagging issues on Rednote requires you to provide evidence.
In this area, you can give more information about your problem before submitting a picture as evidence.
A Sinologist’s Suggestion Regarding Rednote
As someone who has studied China for over a decade, seeing Americans move over to Rednote (Xiaohongshu) has been captivating.
Like others in this space, the Nanjing Marketing Group team and I have been trying to figure out a way to bring people outside and inside China together for years. None of us could have foreseen that a TikTok ban would open the floodgates to getting Chinese and non-Chinese talking more. I have always believed that by Americans and Chinese talking more, there would be less hostilities between our countries.
Indeed, many TikTok refugees seem to have felt the same.
I (along with many others) am interested to see where this will lead us.
This being said, I still advise Rednote users to go about things with a degree of caution. Perhaps some of the concerns about the app are over the top, especially after two decades of Western industrial expertise being outsourced to China. Just read Poorly Made in China where the author discusses in one chapter how the movement of paper processing to Guangzhou resulted in very confidential information being found daily in Chinese factories.
However, keep in mind that when English speakers use American apps, there is no language barrier to navigate.
Additionally, many apps like Instagram or X have offices across the world too. This shouldn’t be overlooked because it makes it easier for users to make use of their countries’ robust legal systems to push back if they ever feel their rights are being threatened.
Rednote, on the other hand, is mainly in China. Its main language is NOT English. Perhaps in the upcoming years the company will open more offices around the world, but for now, its workforce is overwhelmingly Chinese.
Keep in mind too that China has some very sensitive political disagreements with the Western world. Yes, European countries push back against the US sometimes, but it’s a bit different than the issues brought up concerning China. Sure, the US and Denmark may be having disagreements over Greenland at the moment, but that is nothing like the tension over Taiwan. Italy may be concerned about IP theft with ChatGPT, but at least European countries are on board with the US’s export controls on sending semiconductor chips to China. Worries still exist about China’s relationship with Russia after it invaded Ukraine, but Europe still turns to the US for help with NATO.
Furthermore, China’s legal system is in the process of evolving and doesn’t work in the same way as the USA’s, Canada’s, or any Western European nation.
As someone working for a marketing agency connected to China, I don’t write the above because I am “anti-China”—I am just being realistic. I am sometimes called a “中国通” by Chinese, meaning they believe I know China very well, but I personally believe I still have a lot to learn. Even with 11 years of experience with China and a Masters that involved heavy study of the country, I have tons of unanswered questions. Despite the negative press surrounding China, I have persisted in trying to learn more in the hope that my curiosity will contribute positively to business, international relations, and interpersonal relationships between the two countries.
Overall, I welcome more non-Chinese to Rednote and believe it could lead to more understanding and less division. However, like with most things in life, it’s always a good idea to keep your wits about you.