Singapore's Likee Is an Unlikely Winner of the TikTok Ban

Following a temporary US ban on TikTok due to a federal law targeting Chinese influence, alternative social media apps like Clapper, RedNote, and Likee saw a surge in downloads and usage. The ban, which lasted about 14 hours, led to significant increases in user activity for these platforms, with Likee experiencing a 143% rise in downloads and a 37% increase in usage in the US. Other apps like Clapper and Snapchat also saw double-digit gains, while TikTok's major competitors, Instagram and Facebook, had more modest increases. RedNote gained significant traction, becoming the most-downloaded free app in US app stores during the ban.

TikTok returned online after President-elect Donald Trump promised a temporary reprieve, despite the law signed by former President Biden that effectively bans TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, divests ownership. Although TikTok's daily active users increased by 17% after the ban was lifted, the app remains unavailable in US app stores. Users searching for TikTok are instead presented with alternative apps like Likee and Clapper. The situation remains uncertain as Trump issued an executive order allowing 75 additional days to resolve the issue, but the legality of this order is still in question.

Key takeaways:

Panic over the US TikTok ban led to increased downloads and usage of alternative social media apps like Likee, Clapper, and RedNote.
Likee, a TikTok clone, saw a significant surge in downloads and usage in the US during the ban, with downloads jumping to nearly 167,000 on Sunday and about 286,000 on Monday.
Shares of Likee's parent company, Joyy, rose about 3 percent, outpacing the average gain among its Nasdaq peers.
TikTok came back online in the US after president-elect Donald Trump promised a temporary reprieve, but its availability in app stores remains restricted.

Singapore's Likee Is an Unlikely Winner of the TikTok Ban

Key takeaways:

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