TikTok Becomes the World’s Second Most Downloaded App

According to the Q4 2019 Store Intelligence Data Digest by Sensor Tower, TikTok, a video-sharing social network owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, achieved an all-time high in mobile application downloads in the last quarter of 2019. The short video sensation overtook Facebook and Messenger as the world’s second most downloaded app after WhatsApp in the year of 2019.

The quarter report shows that TikTok’s total downloads grew by 24% sequentially, with a particularly strong performance in App Store where it leads in worldwide downloads. As for Google Play, it climbed to the second place after WhatsApp, its highest ranking yet. Geographically, the short video platform lands on the No.2 spot in both the US and Europe.

Overall, after reaching the fourth spot in 2018, TikTok continued its impressive growth in 2019, evidenced by surpassing social application stalwarts like Facebook and Messenger. However, concerns including user engagement levels, monetization challenges, and growing competition from both bigger and smaller players remain.

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Besides TikTok, tech giant Facebook has dominated the list as its apps occupied the remaining four spots in the top five. Other noticeable companies include Disney+ and Likee. Despite launching well into the quarter in mid-November, Disney+ ranked No. 9 in global downloads in Q4 and achieved an unprecedented 31 million downloads in the US. Likee, from Singapore-based Bigo, made it into the top ten for the first time with more than 330 million downloads in 2019, a 173% growth year-over-year.