KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — If you follow Chinese social media you might already have heard of BiliBili, China’s answer to YouTube.
On August 19, the service confirmed it was going international, with an Android app for global users already being available while an iOS app is coming soon.
A Discord account has been made to help educate users on how to post their videos on the website and marketing itself by saying that the site aims to reach “Gen Z Coded, affluent and well-educated” users.
What is BiliBili?
It’s a video sharing website. Think YouTube but China-based and until now, mostly skewed towards users in Mainland China.
In recent years it started offering paid subscriptions with premium content including a decent library of Japanese anime as well as China-made animated series known as donghua.
Isn’t it already available internationally?
The previous international version of the app on Android was discontinued but has now been relaunched.
Bilibili has also now removed the need for ID verification, which was a previous requirement for non-China users to upload videos to the platform.
Is it really that popular?
According to Nanjing Marketing Group, in 2025 BiliBili had approximately 340 million monthly active users (MAU) and 34 million daily active users (DAU).
For video content creators who have found YouTube far too crowded or would like an international audience not gatekept by Google’s rules, the numbers are tempting.
Getting into it now while it’s still in the early days of expansion worldwide does look good on paper but with certain caveats.
China site, China rules
In BiliBili’s community rules, it’s stated: “We encourage the creation of new and diverse content. However, we must also take all necessary measures to stop and prevent violations and/or infringement of any laws or regulations, ethics, the requirements of local regulatory agencies, and the legal rights of others, as well as the distribution of any content that may affect the safety and health of the BiliBili community.”
You could interpret this to mean that BiliBili is likely to adhere to China’s general content standards, seeing that it is headquartered in China.
Should I get into BiliBili?
If your content’s growth is stagnating or you think you want to expand your reach globally, it looks good on paper.
The reality is that YouTube’s existing platform, tools and monetisation methods are a lot more straightforward if you’re not based in China.
BiliBili is also likely to have a lot more content moderation with content that YouTube might accept being blocked or flagged instead on the service.
Prospective users should probably get on the site’s official Discord Creator Hub where you can ask questions or at least get a feel for whether the service is the right fit for you.
You could also just head to either the original Chinese website at www.bilibili.com or the more international user-friendly www.bilibili.tv.
