ByteDance’s lifestyle app Lemon8 gains popularity in US as TikTok faces possible ban

Lemon8, a social app owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is seeing an increase in popularity in the US at a time when the company’s flagship short video platform TikTok faces a potential ban.

The app, described as a cross between Instagram and Pinterest, has been the most downloaded lifestyle app for iOS devices in the US since the first day of the month, according to app intelligence firm Data.ai.

Since September 2, it has broken into the top 20 list of all iOS apps - except for September 6 and 7 - compared with a ranking below 30 in the previous two months.

Among Android devices, Lemon8 has ranked among the top seven lifestyle apps since September 4, compared with a ranking between 10th and 20th in the previous two months, Data.ai information showed.

Launched in 2020, ByteDance has actively promoted the new platform to its TikTok user base, to the extent that it caused a backlash. In August, TikTok user Mia Marquis posted a video complaining that she was “tired of getting those Lemon8 ads”. The post received nearly 400 comments and 400,000 views, with most people echoing her opinion.