The Dip Continues - The Most Downloaded Apps in the World in September

Looking at last month's estimates for new app installs, we see a contrasting trend from app revenue continue. Let's go over the top apps using our App Intelligence and explain what we mean.

The most downloaded mobile apps in the world in August

Instagram ranked #1 globally for first-time downloads, but its 54M total was 10M fewer than in July, which had shown some month-over-month growth.

TikTok, again at #2, also saw a decline, with 45M downloads—down 4M from the previous month. Facebook and WhatsApp maintained their #3 and #4 spots with 39M and 35 downloads, respectively, both down from August's totals of 43M (-9%) and 42M (-17%).

Notably, #5 changed hands, with Meta's Threads moving up to the spot, becoming the #1 free app on iOS and gaining traction on Google Play.

In an encouraging turn, ChatGPT broke into the top 10 at #10 in August and climbed to #8 in September, experiencing month-over-month growth from 19M to 24M downloads — a 5M increase.

Overall, September marked another month of declining new app downloads, with total non-game installs estimated at 334M, down about a 5% from August.

While it's not the growth month we hoped for, the launch of iOS 18, iPhone 16, and Google's compelling hardware may turn the tide soon.

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