What Happened to Xiaohongshu? Inside the Data Behind Its 77‑Day Removal

After Xiaohongshu was taken down for 77 days, its total active‑user curve showed a clear watershed on July 30, 2019, when official channel additions stopped, causing a steep decline in both new and channel‑acquired users.

The daily active‑user (DAU) count fell from 25.77 million on July 31 to 21.51 million on September 25, a drop of about 4 million. In the first month after removal the DAU fell 577 k, but the second month saw a modest rebound of over 100 k, reducing the monthly loss to roughly 200 k.

Despite the overall decline, user‑engagement metrics such as usage time and session count improved. Around September 6 the DAU hit a low of 20 million, but two weeks later usage surged by 200 k, likely due to holiday activity and the fact that no new users were diluting the user base.

Most of the post‑removal activity came from existing users: dormant users re‑engaged, and social sharing among heavy users generated organic growth. Android users resorted to alternative download channels, while iOS users turned to paid services on platforms like Taobao.

Third‑party sellers capitalized on the situation, offering overseas versions of the app for a few yuan each, reportedly selling 25 000 orders per month and earning around 150 000 CNY.

Meanwhile, many copycat apps appeared in app stores, trying to capture the displaced traffic. One such app, “Xiaohongshu City,” quickly rose to the top of the book category and achieved daily downloads of over 100 000 after rebranding.

Weibo launched a competing product called “Oasis,” dubbed the “little green book,” leveraging its massive user base to achieve rapid cold‑start growth.

The analysis concludes that while Xiaohongshu’s core user base remained relatively sticky, the two‑month outage exposed vulnerabilities in growth, monetization, and operational strategy, and the product now faces both external competitors and internal challenges of scaling a UGC platform.