Bilibili Relaunches International App, Drops ID Check in Push Beyond China

SHANGHAI —

Bilibili, the Chinese video platform often described as the country's answer to YouTube, has relaunched its international app worldwide and scrapped a requirement that users verify their identity with a passport or other government document, Anime News Network reported. The Android version went live on August 19, and an iOS version is coming soon, according to a post from the company's official creator account cited by IBTimes UK.

The old rule forced anyone posting to Bilibili's main Chinese site, even from overseas, to hand over ID. That barrier is gone. The new app blends Chinese and international content into a single feed and adds AI translation tools so viewers can watch in multiple languages, IBTimes UK reported. More countries are expected to get access soon, and Google Play listings already show more than five million cumulative downloads from earlier versions of the app, according to IBTimes UK.

Courting Creators, and Scrutiny

Bilibili is reportedly trying to recruit YouTubers to post on its platform, according to Semafor's reporting cited by Engadget, and has already gotten prominent figures such as MrBeast to upload to its main site, IBTimes UK reported. The company is hiring community managers in Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Istanbul and Tokyo, and building AI-powered content moderation systems staffed out of Singapore, according to IBTimes UK. An English-language website is described as "coming soon," and internal presentations shown to influencers describe a marketplace to connect creators with brands for sponsored deals, IBTimes UK reported.

The expansion raises the same questions that have dogged TikTok, whose Chinese ownership led to a forced sale of its US business over national security concerns, Engadget noted. Analysts told IBTimes UK the push could invite scrutiny over content moderation, censorship and data security.

A Long Way From YouTube's Scale

The numbers show how far Bilibili has to go. YouTube draws roughly 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide, according to IBTimes UK, dwarfing Bilibili's 376 million monthly active users and 115 million daily active users on its core Chinese platform in the first quarter of 2026. Still, Bilibili turned a corner financially: it posted $4.2 billion in net revenue for 2025, up 13 percent from the prior year, and logged its first full-year profit under US accounting rules, IBTimes UK reported.

YouTube isn't standing still either. Bloomberg reported the company is working on deals to pay channels to post there first rather than spreading content across multiple platforms at once, according to Engadget.