Last Updated on January 15, 2025 
Jeffrey Hau
Are There Rules & Guidelines on XiaoHongShu/REDNote?
The quick answer is yes. Like all social media platforms, XiaoHongShu (or REDNote) has strict rules, regulations, and guidelines to manage user behavior and content flow. These rules are designed to comply with legal requirements, while the community guidelines focus on fostering a positive environment and healthy interactions among users.
As a Chinese platform, XiaoHongShu adheres to local government laws, meaning content that touches on sensitive topics, particularly those that might put the platform at risk to the Chinese authorities is restricted.
Additionally, because XiaoHongShu thrives on user-generated content (UGC), it’s essential to have clear rules to maintain the authenticity and accuracy of the information shared. This makes sure that the content you see remains trustworthy and relevant.
Not to mention, XiaoHongShu’s rules also protect underage users from adult content and help prevent any form of child abuse content on the platform.
As XiaoHongShu positions itself as a social commerce platform, its rules are crucial to safeguarding both users and businesses, preventing false advertising and financial losses.
Furthermore, the platform’s rules work to block out spam and fraudulent content, creating a better user experience and maintaining quality.
By enforcing these rules and guidelines, XiaoHongShu ensures its reputation as a top destination for high-quality, useful content. This not only attracts more users but also keeps the platform in good standing with the Chinese government—leading to stable growth and more revenue.
Where Can You Find XiaoHongShu’s Official Rules & Guidelines?
If you’re wondering, both of XiaoHongShu’s rules and community guidelines are accessible through the XiaoHongShu app.
For the community guidelines, just open the sidebar on the app and select the ‘Community Rules’ on the bar. As for XiaoHongShu’s official rules and regulations, go into the app’s ‘Settings’ page and look for the ‘About XiaoHongShu’ button. You will see the official rules and regulations in the ‘Community Rules’ section as well. Feel free to refer to the diagram above if you’re still confused!
However, you will see that both of these pages are completely in Mandarin. Don’t worry, we have a full translated version below for your convenience!
Here is The English-Translated Version of XiaoHongShu’s Official Rules & Guidelines:
XiaoHongShu Community Rules
1. Values
XiaoHongShu encourages users to post content that aligns with current positive social values. All content posted should:
- Adhere to the Chinese Constitution and laws.
- Practice the core socialist values. (A list of values promoted by the Chinese government, which includes: prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, the rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship)
- Promote patriotism, collectivism, and socialism.
- Spread the correct views on history, nationality, state, and culture.
- Promote the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.
- Uphold social ethics, professional ethics, family and personal virtues, and respect public order and good customs.
- Promote scientific thinking and popularize scientific knowledge.
- Advocate a positive, healthy, and progressive lifestyle and social trends.
2. Laws & Regulations
XiaoHongShu will take the strictest measures to prevent behaviors that violate laws and regulations or endanger national and social security.
2.1 Adhere to Basic Regulations
XiaoHongShu prohibits the posting and spreading of information about:
- Content that violates the fundamental principles established by the Constitution.
- Content that endangers national security, leaks state secrets, subverts state power, or undermines national unity.
- Content that harms national honor and interests, such as damaging the image of the national flag or emblem.
- Content that incites ethnic hatred, ethnic discrimination, or undermines ethnic unity.
- Content that undermines national religious policies, promotes cults or feudal superstitions.
- Content that spreads rumors, disrupts social order or undermines social stability.
- Content that spreads obscenity, pornography, gambling, violence, murder, terrorism, or incites criminal activity.
- Content that insults or slanders others, or infringes on others’ legal rights.
- Content that promotes terrorism, extremism, or incites terrorist or extremist activities.
- Content that insults or abuses national heroes’ images, distorts or beautifies the acts of invaders and wars of aggression.
- Content that attacks or slanders party and national leaders fabricates negative information about leaders or misuses their images.
- Content that violates public order and good customs, such as vulgar pranks.
- Content that contains any other content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.
2.2 Regarding Legal Rights of Minors
To better manage the responsibility of protecting the legal rights of minors, XiaoHongShu has set up a “minor mode”. This mode limits content viewing and usage time, bans live-stream tipping, and payment functions; as well as regulations for managing minor-related content, and handles content that harms the physical and mental health of minors, including but not limited to the following:
- Content involving minors in pornography, vulgarity, such as showing minors’ marriage, sexual abuse, etc.
- Content involving violence and bullying against minors, such as violent crime, physical punishment, bullying, etc.
- Content that discloses minors’ personal privacy, such as showing minors’ private parts or exposing personal information.
- Content involving minors’ bad behavior, such as teaching religion, drinking alcohol, smoking, or cult-like cartoons.
- Content that bypasses minors’ system supervision, such as methods to avoid or turn off minor mode.
- Other content harmful to the safety and health of minors.
2.3 Regarding Illegal Information
XiaoHongShu prohibits spreading illegal content related to forbidden items, including but not limited to:
- Prohibited substances such as drugs, illegal medications, and illegal tools (e.g., marijuana, opium, prescription drugs, counterfeit money, firearms, explosives, VPN software, cheating programs, etc.).
- Fraud or gambling-related information, such as fraudulent customer service impersonation, fake lottery-winning messages, or gambling platforms.
2.4 Regarding Adult and Vulgar Content
XiaoHongShu prohibits spreading information that includes but is not limited to:
- Direct exposure or depiction of sexual body parts.
- Depictions of sexual behavior, suggestive, or insulting content.
- Content using suggestive language to describe sexual behavior, sexual acts, or sexual methods.
- Content where individuals are partially or fully unclothed, using only their bodies to cover private parts.
- Content that invades personal privacy, such as exposing accidental nudity, voyeurism, etc.
- Content with vulgar and provocative titles as clickbaits.
- Pornographic or vulgar content banned by relevant departments, including cut scenes from films.
- Content promoting one-night stands, wife swapping, sexual abuse, etc.
- Erotic cartoons, novels.
- Promoting violence, malicious insults, slander, etc.
3. Trading and Redirecting Traffic
XiaoHongShu prohibits sales behavior that infringes on consumer rights or disrupts market order, and bans high-risk sales content, including but not limited to the following:
Regarding Trading and Sales on XiaoHongShu
XiaoHongShu prohibits actions that harm consumer rights, such as selling counterfeit products, harassment, etc., and activities that disrupt market order, including false advertising, false transactions, price fraud, intellectual property violations, etc.
Regarding Redirecting Traffic on XiaoHongShu
XiaoHongShu prohibits posting personal contact information or links to other platforms for traffic redirection, such as phone numbers, WeChat IDs, websites, and QR codes.
4. Improper Behavior
XiaoHongShu does not encourage content that is unfriendly, deceptive, or dangerous and prohibits any fraudulent information or behavior, including but not limited to the following:
4.1 Offensive and Inappropriate Behavior
- Posting content involving personal attacks or harassment, such as insults, slander, malicious provocation, or intentional harassment.
- Posting uncivil behavior, such as smoking in non-smoking areas, obstructing guide dogs, or spitting in public places.
- Posting content that severely affects user experience, such as graphic gore, clickbait, or inconsistent imagery and text.
- Sharing products or content that lacks relevance, genuine experience, authenticity, or over-relies on merchant guidelines or promotional language.
- Posting content that does not align with mainstream public beliefs.
4.2 Deceptive Behavior
- Fabricating rumors about public figures, such as false claims about terminal illness, death, or other inaccurate information.
- Posting content that contradicts scientific knowledge, such as food safety or health advice, is disproven by official or authoritative bodies.
4.3 Dangerous Behavior
- Engaging in actions prone to imitation and danger, such as reckless driving, improper use of open flames, or tampering with elevators.
- Performing high-risk activities without safety notices or protective measures, such as extreme sports or high-altitude actions without supervision.
4.4 Fraudulent Behavior
- Maliciously registering accounts, such as bulk registrations.
- Abusing privileges by creating or operating multiple accounts to disrupt or interfere with Xiaohongshu’s platform order.
- Abnormally posting notes, such as spammed posting, high-frequency posting, or automated posting by bots.
- Generating false data through programs, scripts, human manipulation, or other irregular means, such as fake followers, likes, collections, or comments.
- Seeking undue benefits, harming others, or interfering with the platform’s normal operations through oneself or third parties, such as malicious framing or false reporting.
- Engaging in other activities that disrupt the order of the Xiaohongshu platform, compromise fairness and authenticity, or hinder healthy ecosystem development.
5. Infringement Actions
Xiaohongshu strictly prohibits any behavior that infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of others, such as impersonation, plagiarism, or unauthorized reproduction, including but not limited to the following:
5.1 Rights to Name, Portrait, Reputation, and Privacy
- Using personal information without authorization to impersonate others by registering accounts or using their name, avatar, etc.
- Posting false statements or spreading untrue information that damages the reputation or commercial standing of others, such as rumors about personal relationships or negative business claims.
- Publishing personal privacy information without consent, such as identity card numbers, home addresses, medical histories, or financial credit statuses.
5.2 Intellectual Property and Other Rights
- Sharing content that infringes on copyright rights without authorization, including videos, photos, text, etc.
- Misusing registered company names, trademarks, trade names, or product packaging of others.
- Publishing content that infringes on patent rights, including unauthorized sales offers.
- Disclosing trade secrets or other confidential information without authorization.
- Posting content intended to deliberately promote counterfeit or substandard products.
6. How XiaoHongShu Handles Violations
6.1 Standards for Violations
Users may be deemed in violation if they meet any of the following criteria:
- Confirmed breach of policy after XiaoHongShu’s manual investigation
- Xiaohongshu’s algorithm system detects abnormal account behavior within a specific period.
6.2 Measures for Handling Violations
Based on the nature and severity of the violation, Xiaohongshu may adopt one or more of the following measures:
Content-Related Measures
- Remove manipulated content and data.
- Limit content visibility.
- Prohibit content display.
- Pursue legal action.
Account-Related Measures
- Restrict account functions, such as disqualifying the account from applying for pro account verification.
- Limit account visibility.
- Mute the account.
- Suspend or ban the account.
- Pursue legal accountability as per the law.
XiaoHongShu Community Guidelines
1. Regarding Content Sharing on the Platform
- Be Authentic: Share original, truthful, and genuine content that aligns with the platform’s values.
- Disclose Sponsorships: Clearly state if a post is sponsored by a brand.
- Avoid Flaunting Wealth: Refrain from showcasing excessive wealth or unusual spending habits.
- Stick to Facts: Only share scientifically proven information.
- Keep It Real: Avoid over-editing or excessively polishing content, especially when sharing product details.
- Respect Boundaries: Avoid sharing nudity or sexually suggestive content.
- Be Yourself: Do not impersonate others or misrepresent your identity.
- Share Responsibly: Avoid clickbait, misleading information, and unverified advice, particularly regarding medical or financial topics.
- Respect Others: Always consider the feelings and rights of others when creating content that involves them.
2. Regarding Interaction on the Platform
- Engage Respectfully: Interact with others’ content thoughtfully, focusing on the message, not personal attributes like appearance.
- Foster Positivity: Maintain a supportive and respectful environment during interactions.
3. Regarding Trading on the Platform
- Protect Creativity: XiaoHongShu supports and safeguards the intellectual property of brands and merchants.
- Verify as a Merchant: Ensure your identity is authenticated through a professional account.
- Be Honest: Provide truthful and accurate descriptions of your products.
- Use the Platform: Conduct transactions within the platform to secure the rights of both parties.
4. Regarding Marketing on the Platform
- Collaborate the Right Way: Use XiaoHongShu’s Dandelion platform to connect with content creators for authentic partnerships.
- Focus on Authenticity: Ensure collaborations are based on genuine experiences.
- Play Fair: Respect your competitors by avoiding unfair practices like malicious reporting or smear campaigns.
Are There Any Prohibited Keywords or Keyphrases on XiaoHongShu?
Apart from the community rules and guidelines, there are also specific keywords or key phrases you cannot include in your content on XiaoHongShu.
Since the platform has its own e-commerce function, any terms that could be used for false advertising or promote mindless spending are prohibited, all in XiaoHongShu’s effort to protect users’ interests.
Some keywords related to specific industries such as financial services or healthcare products are also prohibited to protect users from potential dangers.
Religion or superstition-related keywords are also a big no-no on the platform, as the Chinese government aims to only promotes scientific thinking among citizens.
Some examples include of prohibited or banned keywords include:
- Words Showing Extremity: ‘Ultimate’,’ Best’, ‘Cheapest’, ‘Lowest’,’ Most Popular’ etc.
- Words Related to the Number ‘1’: ‘No.1’, ‘Champion’, ‘Top-Ranked’ etc.
- Words Related to Authorities: ‘Recommended By Health Department’ etc.
- Words About Promises or Guarantees: ‘100% Effectiveness’, ‘Zero Side-Effects’, ‘Slim Down Within 7 Days’, etc.
- Words Encouraging Mindless Spending: ‘Buy Now or Miss It!’,’ Buy Now For Discounts!’, ‘Click For Surprises’ etc.
- Industrial-Related Keywords: ‘Anti-Cancer’, ‘Effortless Weight Loss’, ‘Low-Risk Investments’, ‘Fast Returns’, ‘Return on Investment’ etc.
- Words Related to Superstitions & Religions: ‘Bring Good Luck’, ‘Feng-Shui’, ‘Bringing Health and Wealth’ etc.
Additionally, terms related to sensitive political topics concerning the Chinese government are also prohibited, in order to maintain peace among citizens and avoid events that could disrupt political stability.
What Will Happen if You Violate the Platform’s Official Rules?
XiaoHongShu has a tiered system to handle rule violations, depending on how serious the issue is and whether you’ve broken the rules before.
For smaller, first-time violations, you’ll typically receive a warning. The platform will notify you about what went wrong and ask you to fix the issue with your note.
For more serious infractions, XiaoHongShu may apply a shadowban. This often happens if you use inappropriate or overly promotional keywords in your notes. During a shadowban, which can last from a week to several months, your content’s visibility is limited by the algorithm, meaning fewer users will see your posts.
If you post spam, or harmful content, or try to redirect users to third-party platforms, your account may get muted.
Depending on the situation, the mute can last anywhere from 24 hours to 30 days. During this time, you can still view posts, but you won’t be able to post new notes, comment, or send private messages.
The final step is a permanent ban for severe violations, such as engaging in illegal activities. If banned, you’ll lose all access to the platform’s functions and features. The duration of the ban can vary, from 7 days to a permanent ban.
Need Help on Navigating XiaoHongShu's Complex Environment?
XiaoHongShu’s community rules and guidelines can feel like a minefield—one wrong step, and you could end up in trouble with the platform. It’s a lot to handle, especially if you’re trying to grow your account at the same time.
That’s where PRIZM comes in! Our experienced team in Guangzhou knows XiaoHongShu inside and out. We’ll help you grow your account safely, without the stress of navigating all the platform’s do’s and don’ts.
So, why take the risk? Let us make your XiaoHongShu journey smooth and worry-free. Click the button below for a free consultation!
