ByteDance is already attempting to recruit influential members of the social media community to use Lemon8 before its formal release later this year. This comes as the company's other popular app, TikTok, faces further scrutiny in the US on safety concerns.
Shift to New App
Last week, the owner of the famous and controversial Chinese app TikTok employed marketing firms to reach out to social media creators.
One of the messages read, "ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, invites you to become a launching creator on their new Lemon8 platform before it officially rolls out in the United States!"
Reviewing the notes and linked materials, The New York Times learned that Lemon8 plans to become a top global social media service and uses "the same recommendation engine that helps TikTok succeed," known as the FYP or For Your Page. The platform has already been quietly introduced in app stores and will initially focus on fashion, healthy food, and wellness.
ByteDance's approach shows that the firm is not intimidated by the rising clamor in Washington to ban TikTok or compel the Chinese owners to sell it. ByteDance is keen to follow in the footsteps of TikTok, which has gained 150 million members in the US with its new app Lemon8.
From the Political Viewpoint
Yet, legislators and regulators may be wary of Lemon8 for the same reasons they are of TikTok, which has become a flashpoint in the ongoing competition between the US and China in technology and economic power.
The Chinese government's use of TikTok's content recommendation system to spread propaganda or users' personal information have both been cited as reasons for US authorities to label the app a threat to national security.
Lindsay Gorman, director of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund and a former tech advisor for the Biden administration, believes the same problems will come up. She explained that, like Instagram, Lemon8 is a social networking site collecting user data. Plus, it is owned by the same company that developed TikTok.
ByteDance's spokesperson Jennifer Banks did not address inquiries concerning Lemon8 or if the business expected regulatory attention.
Meet 'Lemon8'
The app is a bridge between Pinterest and promoted Instagram posts, according to Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of influencer marketing agency Captiv8. Its two columns of information are packed with shopper-friendly advice and product suggestions.
Per the briefings shared with marketing firms in January, Lemon8's "ideal creator portrait" is a woman between the ages of 22 and 26 in the New York or Los Angeles region interested in fashion or beauty. To "build the most inspiring and informative platform to discover, share, and bring ideas to life," as that website put it, was Lemon8's stated mission.
Lemon8 also claimed that it was first presented in Japan in April 2020. It has since grown to other nations, including the UK, Singapore, and Indonesia, reaching five million monthly active users globally in 2022.
While Lemon8 may be downloaded, it has yet to be officially released. According to letters sent to creators, ByteDance plans a worldwide marketing drive in May to entice more users.
