At least, this is the theory implied by the warnings that some RedNote users are giving each other (“China’s RedNote netizens warn each other about sharing street views with US TikTok users,” South China Morning Post, January 20, 2025).
Wouldn’t the U.S. spies have been able to ask Chinese people on any number of Chinese social apps for street view images before now? And if an ordinary Chinese user of RedNote can easily supply a street view image, is the image really all that dark and hidden a secret?
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.”
One reason foreigners might ask Chinese for street view images is that Google can’t supply them the way it can for neighborhoods of the United States and many other countries. Google Street Views is one of the Google services banned in China. “As a result, most street view images in China are not accessible on the internet.”
Chinese RedNoters didn’t come up with their concern entirely on their own. They have been taught to watch out for spies, a category that no doubt includes anyone concerned about China’s persecution of Uyghurs and Tibetans. Chinese authorities have accused foreign spies of trying to steal valuable geographic information about China and have sought to raise public awareness about the problem.
Nevertheless, Americans will probably be able to get the street view images one way or another. Just so that when we need them, we have them.
