Meta, TikTok Lead the Way in the Latest App Download Charts, While Snapchat Sees More Attention

TikTok continues to hold its place at the top of the download charts, and solidify its position as the trending app of the moment, while despite recent reports of its demise, Facebook is the most used social app, according to the latest stats from data.ai (formerly App Annie).

As per data.ai’s Q1 2022 Apps Index, Instagram and TikTok were the most downloaded apps in the early part of the new year, while TikTok lead the way in overall consumer spend.

It’s worth noting that the consumer spend data does incorporate Chinese users on iOS, and that’s where a significant portion of TikTok’s revenue comes from (around 57% of overall revenue according to some reports). But even so, it’s clear that TikTok’s popularity is holding – though Meta, of course, remains the dominant player in both downloads and active users.

But probably more interesting is the movement of apps outside of the bigger players.

As noted by data.ai:

“Snapchat moved from #7 to #5 in the download chart from the previous quarter […] Shopee, meanwhile, moved up from #10 in terms of downloads to #7. The Singapore-based mobile commerce company reported GAAP revenue of $5.1 billion for 2021, and ended the year active in 13 countries across Asia, South-America and Europe.”

Shopee, which facilitates eCommerce, has been on the rise for some time, and saw a big boost throughout the pandemic, while Snapchat has been able to maintain its presence, largely due to its focus on private communication between friends.

Many younger users have come to rely on Snapchat as a key messaging platform for their more private discussions – you talk to relatives and general connections in, say, Messenger or WhatsApp, but keep Snap for other chats.

The enduring popularity of Snapchat, despite rising competition, bodes well for its future, especially as it looks to get in on the coming AR wearables wave.

Another element of data.ai’s report looks at overall consumer spend, which reached a new high for a first quarter period.

“Overall, we forecast consumer spend on apps to have grown over 40% in two years, with the total for iOS up nearly 42% from Q1 2020, and 44% up for Google Play.”

data.ai also notes that iOS accounts for 65% of the $33 billion app store spend globally, which is consistent with the previous five quarters. Android remains the most popular OS, especially in developing regions, but iOS users spend more – which is not surprising when measured on demographic balance.

There are some interesting trends – nothing hugely unexpected, but worth noting either way.

You can download data.ai’s full Q1 app performance report here.