TikTok could exceed 1.5 billion users by 2022. — AFP pic
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 1 ― Are you more of a TikTok or Instagram person? Which social network was your go-to in 2021? To see if you were in line with the majority of users, discover the Top 10 most downloaded social networks in the world this year.
The Apptopia platform looked at the most downloaded social networks in 2021 and, unsurprisingly, TikTok once again emerged as the big winner both globally and in the US. The Chinese social network, which was also ranked as the most downloaded app of the year across all categories, racked up 656 million downloads worldwide, including 94 million across the Atlantic.
According to the study, TikTok is a sensation around the world, despite the fact that a ban on TikTok in India has allowed other apps of the same genre to break through. That’s the case of MX TakaTak and Josh, which use the same color codes as the famous Chinese application. The platforms specially designed for India propose a similar offer to their ByteDance competitor with a continuous thread of short videos themed around beauty, singing, dancing, cooking, with hints of humor. The MX TakaTak app ranks 7th with 128 million downloads worldwide while Josh ranks 10th with 111 million downloads.
With the metaverse, avatars are increasingly becoming an emerging trend. As reality-show singing competitions pit avatars against one another in China, now a social network allows you to create your avatar before participating in 3D chats with users around the world. That’s the unique offer of IMVU, which ranks 10th among the most downloaded social networks in the United States. Apps from Asia are increasingly appealing to Americans, as revealed by the presence of Bigo Live, a streaming platform, and Likee, a social network specializing in short videos, in 8th and 9th place.
Top 10 most downloaded social networks in the world in 2021
1. TikTok ― 656 million
2. Instagram ― 545 million
3. Facebook ― 416 million
4. WhatsApp ― 395 million
5. Snapchat ― 327 million
6. Twitter ― 171 million
7. MX TakaTak ― 128 million
8. Discord ― 121 million
9. WeChat ― 109.4 million
10. Josh ― 111 million
Top 10 most downloaded social networks in the US in 2021
1. TikTok ― 94 million
2. Instagram ― 64 million
3. Snapchat ― 56 million
4. Facebook ― 47 million
5. Discord ― 32 million
6. Twitter ― 27 million
7. Reddit ― 25 million
8. Bigo Live ― 11 million
9. Likee ― 8.2 million
10. IMVU ― 7.2 million
To develop these rankings, Apptopia collected all data on Google Play and via iOS. Note that the figures for China are only from iOS. ― ETX Studio