After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, people ran to TikTok to document their hot takes and fun videos, and to escape from the world. Now, pretty much everyone and their mother uses TikTok or has at least heard of it. With its creepily perfect curated For You page, one minute on the app will have you sucked down a rabbit hole of content you’ve never seen before. However, Congress has recently spoken about banning TikTok six years after its creation, raising concerns about where TikTok users can turn to if the ban goes through.
Luckily, we live in a world of evolving technology that comes up with solutions when beloved apps get banned or taken down. One of these is the Lemon8 app. It may not be exactly like TikTok, but it will still allow us to consume short bits of content we enjoy on a daily basis. If you’re wondering what the Lemon8 app even is, or how it compares to TikTok as an alternative, here’s everything you need to know about where it came from and how to use it.
What exactly is the Lemon8 app?
According to the ioS App Store, “Lemon8 is a content sharing platform with a youthful community. Here is where you can discover beautiful, authentic and diverse content” that consists of pictures and videos. “It is THE destination for sharing and exploring.” Lemon8 was launched in Japan in 2020 by ByteDance, who happens to be the parent company of TikTok, and recently became available in the United States on Feb. 22, 2023.
Along with TikTok, Lemon8 shares similarities with Instagram and Pinterest. Like Pinterest, Lemon8 has different topics such as fashion, beauty, food, wellness, and travel that you can specifically search up content for in a speedy way. Gizmodo has described the app as “if Instagram were all ads,” considering that the search page consists of aesthetically pleasing trending hashtags like “#nycfoodreview,” “#investmentpieces,” “#whattowear,” “#lemon8review,” “#ratemyempties,” and “#hellolemon8.” Lemon8 serves as the lovechild of the apps we use to find inspiration in our daily lives and to document our lives to the world.
Lemon8 comes to the rescue as TikTok faces a potential U.S. ban.
For those that don’t know, the government has discussed banning TikTok because of some lawmakers’ belief that the Chinese are using TikTok to spy on Americans, since China could use its national security laws to access the significant amount of personal information that TikTok collects from U.S. users and try to exert pressure on the company to shape what users see on the platform. However, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has said that the Chinese government has never asked TikTok for that information and that the app would refuse access to the information.
Nevertheless, the United States would ban the app by using the RESTRICT Act, a bipartisan bill that would allow the Commerce Secretary to ban foreign technology companies. Though the bill would not necessarily ban the app for current users, it would take it off the App Store and updates would become unavailable, rendering it useless since it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the other updates we need so that our phones and electronic devices run smoothly.
Lemon8 quickly gained popularity overnight in light of users’ fear about TikTok getting banned. Many TikTok users have been posting about it and encouraging their followers to download the app in case the TikTok ban comes to fruition.
As a result, Lemon8 has skyrocketed in the App Store, becoming the No. 10 overall app. It appears that the app might be the light at the end of the tunnel for those of us who don’t want to risk missing out on our favorite content.
While you enjoy the potential last days on TikTok as more than 30 states have acted to restrict TikTok in some way, consider downloading Lemon8. Whether you love the aesthetics of the app, how easy it is to navigate, or how you can still engage with content that you know and love, Lemon8 may be the solution to potentially losing one of our most beloved apps.