TikTok is a very popular Chinese video-sharing app by ByteDance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the app reached unprecedented growth and now it has hit 3 billion downloads worldwide on iOS and Android devices. This milestone makes TikTok the first non-Facebook app to reach the 3 billion mark since 2014; WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger have surpassed 3 billion downloads, globally.
In spite of huge political setbacks in 2020 like the ban in India (the app’s biggest market) and the ban on new downloads in the United States by former President Donald Trump, TikTok’s popularity did not abate. And other social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have been adopting TikTok-like video recording and sharing features to stay relevant.
With 3 billion downloads, spending on TikTok surpassed $2.5 billion worldwide
Sensor Tower’s new report details that the app started 2021 with a strong new install base and consumer spendings. In Q1 2021, with 383 million first-time downloads, the app hit $919.2 million in spendings. And in Q2 2021, TikTok saw its greatest 39 percent quarter-over-quarter growth, with $534.6 million in consumer spendings. It is reported that;
TikTok’s adoption has also accelerated in 2021, as first-time downloads climbed 2 percent Q/Q to 177.5 million in Q1 2021, and surged 16 percent Q/Q to 205.4 million Q2 2021, the most growth the app has seen since its record-breaking Q1 2020 when it accumulated more than 315 million installs, the most any app has seen in a single quarter.
Consumer spending in TikTok has now surpassed $2.5 billion globally. Only 16 non-game apps have seen more than $1 billion in gross revenue since January 2014—five of which, now including TikTok, have reached more than $2.5 billion. The other apps that have generated more than $2.5 billion in consumer spending include Tinder, Netflix, YouTube, and Tencent Video.
TikTok offered users a new social media experience that allows them to make videos on songs, lip-syncing, and much more. Having said that, the report mentions that the app has competition in the future as other social media apps are making changes inspired by TikTok. A fact which ByteDance acknowledges as well, recently, the company introduced an auto-caption feature to make the app more accessible for users with hearing impairments and AR effect for iPhone 12 Pro models with LiDAR scanner. Google has started to show TikTok videos in search and On iOS 15, users will be able to SharePlay the app’s videos in Fall.
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