TikTok's parent company makes a run at photo social media with its new Lemon8

A new Chinese social media app is getting traction in the Western world: Lemon8.  According to a report by The Associated Press (AP), app stores listed it under Heliophilia Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based company with the same address as TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.

Lemon8's layout is very similar to TikTok. It features a "Following" section that lets users look at content from creators they follow and a "For You" section that recommends other posts, as shown in screenshots on The New York Times.

The main difference between the two apps is the content: Lemon8 features images similar to Pinterest or Instagram. It also segments posts under different categories and allows users to explore them in other ways.

Some experts, cited by The Associated Press, compare it with Chinese social media and e-commerce giant Xiaohongshu. It makes sense. Lemon8 was first launched in 2020 for the Asian markets.

It has already made headway in Thailand and Japan, with roughly 7.4 million and 5 million downloads, respectively, according to information by the app analytics company data.ai collected by The Associated Press.

The Chinese company launched the app in the US in February 2023, as registered in the Apple App Store and Android's Google Play. It was not met with much enthusiasm from fans until it drew a little media attention, and a promotion strategy began, said several US media outlets.

According to the AP, most of its downloads were in late March 2023. The app has around 300,000 downloads, and its currently listed as a popular app on Apple's app store.

The strategy to grow in the US market is to reach TikTok's already big influencer pool. As cited in several US media outlets, the company has contacted marketing firms and asked them to promote the app with influencers and brands.

According to The New York Times, once the app chooses the influencers to participate in a launching campaign, the parent company will train them "on which topics and aesthetics tend to result in popular content." They will accumulate content during April and recruit new users in May.

The company also plans to open a few US-based Lemon8 roles, for which they seek applicants. The AP said the US staff would help grow the app's partnerships with influencers on beauty, food, health, and other topics.

ByteDance is undoubtedly not a one-hit-wonder kind of business. Aside from their successful Tiktok and promising Lemon8, the company also owns another app listed on the stores' top downloads: video editor CapCut with around 60 million downloads in the US, according to The New York Times, the AP, and Forbes.

Like TikTok and many other social media apps, Lemon8 collects user data like IP addresses, browsing histories, device identifiers, and additional information according to the user agreement.

That user data and information could spark the same scrutiny from lawmakers as its sibling app, TikTok. The US Congress had a hearing with ByteDance's CEO to analyze whether that social media is a threat to National Security or harmful to children.

All these concerns come from ByteDance's condition as a Chinese company and its potential connections to the Government or Communist Party, as shown in the public broadcast of the congressional hearing. The company has denied the accusations.

Many lawmakers are concerned about how much information the app collects and who can access it. During the congressional hearing, ByteDance's CEO could not affirm the company has no connection to the Chinese Government, but House members could not prove it did either.

That scenario puts the future of Lemon8 in the US in limbo. Despite the context, many influencers, companies, and young users trust ByteDance products, a marketing company representative told The New York Times. However, the jury is still out on the new app.