China’s RedNote netizens warn each other about sharing street views with US TikTok users

Users told that American requests for images of sensitive areas should be ignored over national security concerns

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After a sudden influx of “TikTok refugees”, China’s RedNote users have begun warning each other about sharing too much information with Americans. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:35pm, 20 Jan 2025Updated: 6:20pm, 20 Jan 2025

Chinese users on the RedNote social media platform have cautioned one another about requests from “TikTok refugees” who ask for street view images of China and photos of Tibet or Xinjiang, warning that such users could be foreign spies.

Posts discouraging Chinese users from sharing street views began circulating on the platform last week with warnings like: “Isn’t it strange that they all want photos of China’s landscapes? Doesn’t it seem unusual? Stay alert.”

Some users urged: “Please be cautious when sharing real photos of your local neighbourhoods.”

Google Street Views provides interactive panoramas from multiple positions along many streets in the world. The technology – along with most Google services – was banned in China around 2010 under Beijing’s internet censorship policies. As a result, most street view images in China are not accessible on the internet.

Geographic information is one of many themes that are the subject of a drive by China’s national security authorities to raise public awareness of espionage, and the Ministry of State Security (MSS) has accused foreign agents of using various tactics to try to steal such information.