On Xiaohongshu, users are often troubled by the inability to delete notes in batches, especially when cleaning up a large amount of outdated or no longer needed content. However, behind this seemingly simple lack of functionality lies a fierce game between the platform and the black and gray industry. This article will delve into why Xiaohongshu does not provide a batch deletion function, revealing the complex considerations behind this decision, including preventing black and gray industries from using this feature for illegal operations, protecting user account security, and the delicate balance between user experience and content management on the platform.
Every time I want to clean up the outdated selfies and zero-like store visit notes in Xiaohongshu, I can’t delete them even if I poke a finger until it’s numb, I am shouting in my heart: Why don’t you even give a batch deletion?
This is probably the soul torture of every little sweet potato.
On the surface, batch deletion is just a small technical function, but when you lift the lid, you will find that there is a secret war of millions of accounts hidden underneath.
In December last year, Xiaohongshu rushed to the top of the hot search overnight, with two words: title.
Countless users woke up to find that their accounts were suddenly blocked, and the comment area instantly became a large-scale scene of grievances. “I’ll dry a milk tea!” “I just participated in the pet event!” The grievances on the screen almost overflowed the phone.
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But Xiaohongshu backhanded out a set of data: in just one month, the platform disposed of 1.25 million accounts, of which 252 were large accounts with more than 100,000 fans. Behind these accounts is a mature black industry chain.
The gameplay of Black and Gray is very cunning:
- Batch account raising: Use machines to send massive homogeneous content (film and television clips, game videos, etc.) to quickly increase fans
- High price resale: Wanfen account is clearly marked on the trading platform
- “Change the head” harvest: After buying an account, quickly clear the historical content and replace it with illegal advertisements such as gambling and medical beauty
Batch deletion is the core tool of “head swapping”.
Just imagine: if a marketing account can instantly erase 1,000 film and television clips from the period of raising an account, and then cover it with diet drug advertisements with one click, the platform will almost have no time to react. By the time the user reports it, the scam may have been completed.
Because of this, Xiaohongshu would rather be scolded than get stuck in this opening – as soon as the back door of batch deletion is opened, the Black Production Army will be unimpeded.
In fact, Xiaohongshu has long left a way out for ordinary users.
The “Only Visible to You” function launched in 2020 is for those who want to clean up the dark history but are afraid of deleting multiple injured accounts: click “…” in the upper right corner of the note, enter the permission settings and check the “Only visible to me” homepage notes will remain unchanged, and the content will be immediately invisible
This trick can not only keep the weight of the account (the most taboo abnormal action of batch deletion in the system), but also lock the black history into the private drawer, which is the best of both worlds.
What’s even more subtle is the “secretly deleted photos” turmoil in 2023.
At that time, many users found that Xiaohongshu was suspected of deleting the photo album pictures, and although the official urgently clarified that the deletion was a temporary cache file, the controversy had fermented. After this battle, the platform must be cautious about operations involving user data – after all, deleting content in batches is ten times more sensitive than deleting caches.
So when we complain about the efficiency of deletion, the Xiaohongshu technical team may be fighting against a more dangerous battlefield: intercepting the battering ram of hundreds of thousands of black accounts every day to protect every screen you swipe to share sincerely.
Remember three tips the next time you clear your account:
- Non-violating content: Priority is “only visible to yourself”, don’t force deletion
- When it must be deleted: Process it in reverse order of time, and clear the old posts first
- Labeled content: Use labels to filter out similar notes and clean them centrally
Behind every “inconvenience” of Internet products may be the moat between ordinary users and black and gray industries.
When you poke your finger in front of the mobile phone screen and your finger is sore, think about the 1.25 million blocked accounts – perhaps it is this deleted gap that has not turned Xiaohongshu into another advertising shura field.
