Although users are still declaring their love for CEO Mr. Chew following the TikTok Congress hearing, the app’s future is still up in the air. 

That’s why ByteDance, TikTok’s mother company, has been low-key pushing for a refreshing Gen Z experience.

Although Lemon8 has been around since 2020, the internet wasn’t familiar with the app until last month. During March, there was a surge in Lemon8 downloads and usage, with the app being described as a “mixture of Instagram and Pinterest” by many influencers.

Lemon8 content is currently limited to static images, so it lacks the addictive vertical scrolling that comes with watching videos. However, its interface is aesthetically pleasing and well-curated to users’ interests spanning travel, fashion, food, wellness and beauty. 

Lemon8’s feed gives you familiar “perfecting-that-selfie” Instagram vibes; unlike TikTok that is well cemented in its “authenticity” niche. Content is majorly driven by micro-influencers and paid sponsorships, rather than being spontaneous; with the captions of most posts ending with the #Lemon8partner disclaimer. 

Users can easily save posts for some shopping spree inspo, benefiting from the store-tagging feature influencers use to mark their purchases.

In a nutshell, it’s an industry fact that TikTok’s success is an anomaly that seems hard to replicate. 

And with US regulators insisting on imposing wide-range restrictions on all Chinese technologies, will Lemon8 really stand its chance at becoming the Next Big Thing?

Till things unravel, you can read TechCrunch’s report here.