While US senators debate whether or not to ban its main app, TikTok owner ByteDance is already working on building its American presence, with its Instagram-like Lemon8 app now rising up the App Store charts.

Looks familiar right?

Lemon8 is described as 'a place for young creatives to share a diversity of content' and is quite an oddity that is at once part-Instagram, part-Pinterest-though focused on products it focuses on highlighting content related to specific product categories which are fashion, makeup, food, and travel.

It's been around since 2020, and it's sort of been a phenomenon in Asian countries. Now, however, it's picking up here in the US too: Lemon8 has just hit the top 10 in terms of overall app downloads for the past week.

As TechCrunch observes, that's not so normal:

This is a dramatic move for the app that remains relatively unknown – and one that points to paid user acquisition efforts powering this surge. The Lemon8 app had never before ranked in the Top 200 Overall Charts in the U.S. at least until yesterday."

And then, apparently, the parent company of Douyin, which is an overseas version of TikTok, is aiming to spur on Lemon8 in America. That is, by now, maybe an unlucky timing for them.

But then again, perhaps they want to get in now before there's a TikTok ban in order to have a backup connection into the region. You'd think, at some point, the Lemon8 would also be part of the ban discussions (if it isn't already), but perhaps, having a secondary platform that is popular with US users might soften the blow of a potential TikTok ban somewhat.

Or it could blow up issues over the Chinese company's increased presence in the region. Either way, ByteDance is clearly looking to scale the app, which may become a bigger deal soon.

Insider reported last month that ByteDance has indeed been paying creators to post on Lemon8 as part of a larger effort to scale the platform.

"ByteDance has been paying creators in the UK to post on the app in recent weeks, three influencers told Insider. One creator who had posted on the app shared documentation showing they were getting paid to post on the platform, while two others shared emails they received from Lemon8 outlining the payment structure."

These creators have made up at least part of this new promotional push, with many of them posting positive reviews of the app to TikTok, leading to more downloads of the app.

It could be that, in this scenario, Lemon8 might also form part of ByteDance's plan to get creators paid, which has proven problematic on TikTok itself, due to the complications of adding ads into short video clips.

Maybe, in Pinterest format, Lemon8 would serve as a platform of recommended products by influencers, who will then earn a commission based on the sales generated by each of their posts.

Seems like a logical addendum in this regard but might be ill-timed, once regulators catch on to its growing presence.

Either way, it's interesting to note this latest push on the app, and how ByteDance is looking to use its US market presence to grow another platform.

Could Lemon8 become a new platform for marketers to consider? Given the reach and influence of TikTok, that's definitely a possibility, and it'll be interesting to see how the app grows in the coming months – if it avoids restrictions.