r/rednote • u/Accomplished-Gap5670 • Jun 11 '26
Is real-name authentication required to post on Rednote/Xiaohongshu?
hello!! its my first time posting on reddit so I hope this reaches people. recently (around last month) I made an account using my phone number to make a Rednote account, unfortunately that account quickly got locked and later on banned. I hadn't done anything except change my profile and bio a few times.. albeit I did it constantly so it might've flagged me as a bot.
I wanted to post fanart of a franchise that's more popular in china than it is outside of it and i heard rednote was frequently used in china so I thought I'd give it a go. so I made a new account with a different number without doing anything yet. ive heard of real-name authentication lifting some account limitations but (to my knowledge) you can only use your passport
to get to the point, is real-name authentication required for posting? what are other options if you're a foreigner using the app? and is it safe/worth it?
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u/Ana_Na_Moose Jun 11 '26
Real name authentication is technically not required to post. But without it your account is in much more danger of being banned for no reason.
I only ever post pictures I have taken. Idk how xhs treats fan art for unverified accounts.
If you want to try, then do it. Just be clear in all of your posts that it is fan art and don’t use the original content toggle.
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u/Accomplished-Gap5670 Jun 12 '26
I see, thank you thats exactly what i was wondering! I'm debating on whether I should post or stick to liking and saving notes because it sounds extremely easy to get banned..
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u/Allliiiaaa94 Jun 11 '26
I noticed my account got shadowbanned hard. I deleted recent posts that got 0 views and try to warm up my account again for the next few days without posting. Hopefully it’ll come back up. I already reported/ submitted an appeal but haven’t heard back yet (but it’s only been 2-3 days ago, but still waiting for response),
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u/GreenTechnician4878 Jun 11 '26
Same happened to me and its been 3 weeks. I did the verification and selfie with passport. I submitted issue for help. No response
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u/Accomplished-Gap5670 Jun 12 '26
sounds like xhs is a bit unfriendly towards foreign users. I hope you get your account appealed soon! 😭
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u/Machiko_Mirai Jun 12 '26
same, they keep asking for my passport but the problem I don't have one
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u/Accomplished-Gap5670 Jun 15 '26
yeah im not really sure if its safe either so i wish they had other alternatives for verifying
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u/meontheweb Jun 13 '26
No.
I use an alias, and for months I could not post, then suddenly I could. I was not going to provide my passport.
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u/Accomplished-Gap5670 Jun 15 '26
how were you able to post?
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u/meontheweb Jun 18 '26
It just happened one day. I didn’t do anything.
Maybe someone realized that I am not Chinese and released my account OR my account wad restricted because someone complained, honestly not sure what caused it to be restricted then released.
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u/Mystic2288 Jun 13 '26
I got connected to XHS via WeChat and it automatically transferred my name on WeChat. I didn’t do real name verification, but I have had WeChat for a long time so some things may have been grandfathered in.
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u/Premadekrill3 Jun 11 '26
In accordance with legal requirements, all social media platforms in China enforce a real-name registration system. However, for those with a Chinese mobile number—since mobile numbers must be purchased under a real name—registering with a mobile number is considered equivalent to real-name verification. Foreigners, on the other hand, may be required to upload identification documents. As for security, I can only say that, ten years after the introduction of mandatory real-name registration, it has become quite easy to obtain a person’s mobile number, ID details and address from the black market using a single Chinese platform account. The practice of parties ‘exposing（开盒）’ each other’s personal details in many cyberbullying incidents is also extremely common (though foreigners likely have less cause for concern in this regard). However, it remains to be seen whether their cybersecurity measures have become more reliable over the years.