TikTok Wasn't the Most Downloaded App in the World Last Month

Ariel Ariel
10/22/21

This is a single insight from This Week in Apps #84 - Can't Stop Won't Stop. Check out the full article for more insights.


We just published our monthly report of the most downloaded apps for September (a bit behind schedule), and there are a few interesting trends it highlights.

But first, the winners!

Instagram was the most downloaded app in the world in September, followed by TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Snapchat. If you're comparing this to August's list, it's identical. The numbers are a bit lower, but otherwise, the bigs are big.

That's the top of the list. If we look down a few spots, we'll find new(ish) members Meesho, PLAYit, and Share Vpn. These three underscore the trend that's abundantly clear, and that's that India is still a massive gold mine for downloads.

Those last three I mentioned are mainly there because downloads in India skyrocketed in September. But that's not all. First place Instagram is also where it is thanks to India. As is Snapchat and for the most part, all other apps that aren't banned (like TikTok).

India has become the kingmaker a while back, and because of its sheer size, will likely remain that way for a while. Which gives it a lot of leverage... We've seen a few instances where the government, who definitely realized what they have already, used this leverage to force companies to do what it wants. I see that continuing.

Important If you're not localizing your apps and games for India, you're missing out big time.

App Intelligence for Everyone!

The insights in this report come right out of our App Intelligence platform, which offers access to download and revenue estimates, installed SDKs, and more! Learn more about the tools or schedule a demo with our team to get started.

Are you a Journalist? You can get access to our app and market intelligence for free through the Appfigures for Journalists program. Contact us for more details.

All figures included in this report are estimated. Unless specified otherwise, estimated revenue is always net, meaning it's the amount the developer earned after Apple and Google took their fee.


Related Resources

It Finally Happened! The Highest-Earning Apps in the World in October
Insights
It Finally Happened! The Highest-Earning Apps in the World in October

I'm going to start this in reverse because the thing we've been waiting to happen has finally happened. If you've been f...

A Few New Faces! The Most Downloaded Apps in the World in October
Insights
A Few New Faces! The Most Downloaded Apps in the World in October

October is behind us so we crunched the numbers and ranked the most downloaded mobile apps in the world. While I don't h...