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Kul Bhushan · · 1 min readTikTok surpassed Facebook as world’s most downloaded app in 2020
“A global survey of downloads in 2020 shows that TikTok, a video-sharing app developed in China, on top of the list of social media providers for the first time since the study was first conducted in 2018,” reported Nikkei Asia, citing data from App Annie.
Details:
- TikTok is the only non-Facebook app in the top five most downloaded apps worldwide – even in the US – in 2020.
- In Asia (excluding China), however, Facebook remained at the top position followed by TikTok and Facebook-owned WhatsApp. Facebook’s Instagram and Messenger were among the top five apps.
Photo credit: Nikkei Asia
Dive deeper:
- TikTok’s meteoric growth comes despite security and content quality concerns surrounding the app. Last year, the Trump administration brokered a takeover of TikTok’s US operations, with Oracle and Walmart to siege a large stake in the firm. The proposed deal, however, was shelved by the Biden government.
- TikTok’s relatively stagnant performance in Asia may be because it is banned in India, one of the world’s largest internet markets. In June last year, India banned TikTok and over 50 apps with links to China, citing a threat to national security.
Editing by Collin Furtado and Jaclyn Tiu
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