'Take my data': US 'TikTok refugees' flock to alternative Chinese app

Hong Kong: Furious at the prospect of a US government ban on social media platform TikTok, American users have flocked to another Chinese owned app in...

Hong Kong: Furious at the prospect of a US government ban on social media platform TikTok, American users have flocked to another Chinese-owned app in droves, many with a defiant message: "Take my data!"

TikTok has become another battleground showcasing China-US tensions, with President Joe Biden's administration accusing the app of allowing Beijing to collect data and spy on users -- claims denied by China and TikTok's owner ByteDance.

The United States passed a law last year forcing ByteDance to either sell the platform or shut it down by January 19.

With that deadline looming, Xiaohongshu -- a lifestyle-focussed Instagram-meets-Pinterest alternative -- surged to the top of the Apple App Store downloads on Monday.

The hashtag "tiktokrefugee" had more than 100 million views by Tuesday evening.