Other than gaming apps, there have only been four apps that have achieved three billion downloads; WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Facebook.
That was up until this week, when video-sharing platform TikTok became the first non-Facebook social media app to reach the milestone, according to new research from Sensor Tower.
Making the achievement all the more remarkable is the fact TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was recently banned in India, which had previously been the app’s largest market.
In the first half of this year, TikTok garnered nearly 383 million first-time installs, which actually marked a 38 per cent year-on-year decline (attributed to the India ban).
Although first-time downloads are now slowing, consumer spending on TikTok is increasing.
“In Q2 2021, TikTok saw its greatest quarter-over-quarter growth in consumer spending since Q2 2020, climbing 39 per cent to $US534.6 million ($720 million) from $US384.7 million ($518 million) in the previous quarter,” Sensor Tower said.
The continued growth of TikTok has occurred against the backdrop of continued scrutiny around the app and potential security concenrs.
After former US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the States, ByteDance reached a deal with Oracle and Walmart to create a new US-based company, to be named TikTok global.
But with Trump vacating the Presidency, the proposed deal now appears as though it will be abandoned.
US President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order to revoke actions made by Trump that would ban the app.
