A small but growing number of American firearm enthusiasts are joining RedNote, an app known in China as Xiaohongshu, in an effort to teach native users how to build 3D-printed guns.
One such advocate, known online as “YZY,” signed up on Tuesday, part of an American influx ahead of Sunday’s looming TikTok ban.
“Us Americans have a moral obligation to download RedNote and show the Chinese how to build unserialized ghost guns,” YZY wrote in a post on X.
On his RedNote profile, YZY has already shared numerous videos of 3D-printed weapons alongside links to “The Gatalog,” a community-driven platform that hosts 3D-printed firearm blueprints and related files.
“Learn to 3d print guns like an American,” one video’s caption says in Chinese.
YZY says that after joining RedNote, several of his fellow enthusiasts quickly followed.
“The point for us is always to spread the signal of DIY small arms,” YZY told the Daily Dot. “RedNote is no exception, just a new frontier.”
Unlike many others, however, YZY did not come from TikTok. In fact, YZY said he only used TikTok once years prior but was given a strike almost immediately after posting a single video of a non-3D-printed AK-47 rifle.
Interactions on RedNote have been minimal so far. YZY said he received some positive feedback from Chinese users. Many users have left the comment “666” under his videos, which, in China is a positive slang term meaning “cool,” “awesome,” or “well done.”
One friend of YZY, known on X as @albert9x19, has begun to share 3D-printed firearm content on RedNote as well.
“Wish me luck,” said @albert9x19, a follower of YZY, when joining RedNote.
But not everyone is applauding the gun activists. At least one user argued that the pair’s content could jeopardize the app.
“Hey guys, I know you’re from America, welcome to REDNOTE, I just saw ALBERT9*19,” the user replied, referring to another American pro-gun user. “But I hope you can abide by our laws and it is best not to show too much 3D2A on this platform, otherwise the authorities may separate us into Chinese and foreign nations.”
RedNote already has a reputation as a heavy-handed app in terms of policy enforcement. Dozens of reports on social media from Americans using RedNote claim they’ve already been banned for things like showing cleavage.
In an article by Forbes on Tuesday, RedNote is described as “a tightly controlled platform that exports censorship, reshapes youth culture, and quietly undermines the democratic ideals its community takes for granted.”
Yet so far, YZY says he’s run into fewer issues than he did on TikTok. Although three of his videos were flagged and removed on Tuesday, YZY says they were swiftly restored after he appealed the decision.
“They have removed one of my videos already,” YZY wrote on X. “I just appealed it. In Chinese. I don’t speak Chinese. 2025 is great.”
YZY believes RedNote’s moderation system may not be used to dealing with large amounts of firearm-related content.
“It would not surprise me if they just straight up never thought to make a policy against this,” he said.
An estimated half-million people have joined RedNote in recent days and, according to Reuters, “two sources familiar with the company said they were scrambling to find ways to moderate English-language content and build English-Chinese translation tools.”
3D-printed firearms are already a controversial topic in the U.S., a country with a long history of civilian firearm ownership. In China, a strict ban on private firearm ownership only allows for military, police, and approved security personnel to possess guns.
Nevertheless, YZY remains undeterred.
“The right to a firearm is universal and innate to our humanity and doesn’t require a 2nd Amendment,” he added. “The Chinese have every right to own a gun, the same that we do, and I feel that I have a moral obligation to show them my knowledge.”
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