Instagram is set to become the most downloaded app in 2023 as the Chinese-owned video app faces scrutiny from US regulators and some lawmakers warn it poses a security threat. It took over from TikTok.
According to Sensor Tower data, total Instagram app downloads rose 20% year-on-year to 768 million in 2023.
This statistic means Meta’s photo-sharing app is the most downloaded app in the world, according to the market intelligence firm’s findings. Financial Times.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s downloads rose just 4% over the same period to 733 million.
“Instagram has surpassed TikTok in adoption over the past few years, driven by the popularity of its Reels feature in addition to traditional social media features and functionality,” said Abraham Youssef, Senior Insights Manager at Sensor Tower. he told the magazine.
Chinese technology giant ByteDance launched TikTok in 2016. In 2018, it became the most downloaded TikTok in the US after an $800 million merger with Shanghai-based lip-syncing social media site Musical.ly.
In the first six months of 2018, TikTok was downloaded more than 104 million times on Apple’s App Store alone, according to Sensor Tower.
By the time the coronavirus hit the country in 2020, TikTok was exploding in popularity.
That same year, Instagram debuted Reels, a feature that allowed users to share short clips, in an attempt to mimic TikTok’s approach to attracting millions of Gen Z consumers, according to the FT.
According to Senor Tower, TikTok’s dominance over Instagram will gradually weaken from 2021 to 2022, with Instagram’s monthly active users reaching 1.47 billion last year and taking its place as the most downloaded app. lost.
Instagram welcomed 13 million new monthly active users in the last three months of 2023 alone, an indicator of efficiency in marketing strategy, customer experience, and consumer retention.
During the same period, TikTok saw 12 million users leave the platform, and by the end of 2023 it had 1.12 billion monthly active users.
Despite having a smaller audience, TikTok users engage with the platform at a higher rate than Instagram users, according to the FT.
TikTok users spent an average of 95 minutes on the platform in Q4 2023. In comparison, Instagram took 62 minutes, X took 30 minutes, and Snapchat took 19 minutes. This is largely due to his TikTok’s unique ability to provide targeted content to users. As reported by FT,
TikTok’s algorithm means everyone has the opportunity to go viral quickly, which is why you can become an overnight success with the app’s Creator Fund, which awards eligible creators up to 40 cents for every 1,000 views. It is attracting content creators who are looking to fit in content.
This means creators in the payment program whose videos get 1 million views will receive a $400,000 windfall.
Instagram, on the other hand, does not compensate creators through company funds, but instead offers creators the opportunity to post brand partnerships and sponsored posts at a rate of their choosing (usually determined by follower and engagement rates). are doing.
But as recently as Monday, former President Donald Trump claimed that Chinese-owned TikTok is a national security threat, citing the need to protect the privacy and data rights of Americans.
The House introduced a bill this week that would ban companies like Apple and Google from offering TikTok web hosting in the U.S. or making it available on their app stores unless parent company ByteDance sells it within 180 days. President Trump spoke up as he prepared to do so.
President Joe Biden said he intends to sign a ban on TikTok if it gets to his desk amid continued concerns about the app’s use of data collected from U.S. users.
A bipartisan bill to force Chinese government-aligned ByteDance to sell TikTok already passed a House committee vote unanimously last week, with lawmakers resisting an all-out pressure campaign by the app. , dissatisfied users are trying to vote down the bill.
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The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill to protect Americans from foreign enemy regulatory applications by a 50-0 vote during markup session.
More than 100 million people use TikTok in the United States alone, many under the age of 30, and reports that the Chinese government is stealing app users’ data have raised concerns among lawmakers in Washington. There is.
In response, TikTok called the bill an “outright ban,” saying it would “trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and protect the growth of 5 million small businesses.” “It takes away the platform on which we depend for job creation and job creation.”
But concerned users have cited the app’s strange requests (requiring users to enter their iPhone password to view content) as the reason TikTok is allegedly spying on US-based users. etc.).
