Scoop: TikTok pushes users to Lemon8 as ban looms
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Lemon8 logo displayed on a phone screen and TikTok icon displayed on a screen in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland, on March 30, 2023. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
TikTok's sister app Lemon8 has been sponsoring posts on TikTok encouraging users to migrate to Lemon8 amid a looming ban threat, according to sponsored posts viewed by Axios.
Why it matters: The TikTok ban law also applies to other apps owned by TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance, like Lemon8.
- ByteDance could be betting that regulators and app store companies are so focused on TikTok that they won't pay attention to its other apps.
State of play: In the last few weeks, Lemon8 has been promoting its app to TikTok users through sponsored TikTok videos.
- In one sponsored post, TikTok user @miller.dailylife shares a video with a creator saying, "TikTok actually has another backup app. It's called Lemon8 ... and it automatically signs you in with your TikTok so you can still keep the same TikTok name and things like that. And it's supposed to transfer your followers over. ... Once you add Lemon8, it automatically pops up on your TikTok bio, so that people can just click on it."
- "So, just so you guys know, now that they're trying to do this ban, if you want to have somewhere else to go where the government is not 100% controlling what we see, what we consume ... Just go ahead and go on to Lemon8."
Our thought bubble: ByteDance would probably like to build Lemon8's user base even if TikTok isn't banned.
- But the ads, pegged to recently uploaded videos, suggest they aren't held over from an older, more general marketing campaign.
Between the lines: In November, TikTok began informing users of its sister app, Lemon8, that beginning late that month Lemon8 would be powered by TikTok, and their TikTok usernames would also be used on Lemon8.
- "Some of your data on TikTok will be used to power services on lemon8," the notice says.
- "Your Lemon8 profile link will be shown to your TikTok profile publicly by default," it continues. "You can choose not to show it by editing your TikTok profile."
- A spokesperson for ByteDance said the backend integration between TikTok and Lemon8 was unrelated to the ban.
How it works: Lemon8 features a mix of TikTok-like videos and Instagram-like photos.
- The app, which caters mostly to Gen Z and Gen Alpha users, works similarly to TikTok.
- It includes a "For You" feed for personalized recommendations and a "Following" feed that shows posts from accounts users choose to follow.
By the numbers: Lemon8 is still tiny compared to TikTok, although app engagement has picked up steadily over the past year, according to Similarweb data.
- Lemon8 has averaged a little over 1 million active daily app users since October, about double where it was for the same time period the year prior.
The big picture: The TikTok ban law explicitly states that any app developed or provided by ByteDance is illegal unless it is sold to a company that is not controlled by a foreign adversary.
- But the discussion has largely centered on TikTok — and it's the only company, in addition to ByteDance, that lawmakers named in the law.
- That's in part because ByteDance's complicated corporate structure obscures which apps the company owns and operates.
What we're watching: The Supreme Court may decide to grant President-elect Donald Trump's request to pause the ban, which is set to take effect the day before he takes office.
Go deeper: ByteDance's web of apps could get tangled up in TikTok ban
