What is Lemon8: How to use it and who owns it?
TikTok's owner ByteDance is pushing another app named "Lemon8." Considering the ongoing tension between TikTok and western countries, some say that ByteDance might be pushing Lemon8 to compete with Instagram, especially in the United States. If you have recently seen it and asked yourself, "what is Lemon8?" we are here to answer all the questions you might have in your mind.
Security and privacy concerns about TikTok have recently pushed ByteDance to look for other options to compete with the highest-performing social media platforms in western countries. TikTok is accused of giving user data to the Chinese government. Some countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and others, have decided to ban the application from government issues devices.
What is Lemon8: Explanation
So, what is Lemon8? Lemon8 is a social media app that lets users share videos and photos. It was published by TikTok's owner, Chinese tech giant ByteDance and it received serious attention from U.S. users in one month, reaching the number one spot for lifestyle apps. It is published to compete with Instagram but also carries the characteristics of Pinterest, with over 4 million monthly active users.
Like Instagram, it mainly attracts users interested in fashion, food, wellness, travel, and beauty. However, its Pinterest-looking design differs from Meta's social media giant. You can find suggestions and recommendations under each trending category. On the other hand, fashion bloggers can "tag" the stores where they purchased their clothes and the prices they paid.
Before making it to the top 10 for all apps on App Store, it was never even among the top 200 apps in the country and jumped to the big league in a very short amount of time. It was first globally launched in March 2020, but it might have been a quiet release to test the app with fewer users before making it available for mass usage. It looks like Lemon8 has reached its goals, gradually moving to the top spot.
ByteDance started working on its marketing on TikTok, with users who have hundreds of thousands of followers publishing videos of how it works and answering the "what is Lemon8" question. One creator named Gabrielle Victor, with over 430k followers, described the app as "Aesthetically pleasing. It's like Pinterest and Instagram came together and had a baby."
Who owns Lemon8?
As mentioned above, Lemon8 is owned by the tech giant ByteDance. The Chinese company owns several important firms like TikTok, Moonton Games, and Nuverse.
If you want to know how to use the app, follow the steps. If you are already registered to social media platforms like Instagram, you will find it very easy to use. Simply download it from App Store, register an account, and log in using your credentials. You will be welcomed with others' posts, and if you wish, you can also create your own post, just like in most other social media apps.
ByteDance was founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming, a Chinese entrepreneur. The company's headquarters is in Beijing, China, and the tech giant is home to thousands of employees. The company rose to the top in a couple of years and was later criticized for the possibility of sharing western TikTok users' data with the Chinese government. The United States is preparing for a TikTok ban as they recently empowered the Biden administration to act.
On top of the countries mentioned above that banned TikTok from government-issued devices, some media publications like BBC and Denmark's public service broadcaster also took similar actions, banning the app from corporate devices.
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