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.

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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.


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