TikTok Becomes First Non-Facebook App to Hit 3 Billion Downloads

TikTok has become the first non-Facebook app to reach three billion downloads worldwide across iOS and Android, according to Sensor Tower.

Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data reveals that the app, including its Chinese iOS version called Douyin, was the most downloaded and highest-grossing non-game app globally in the first half of 2021, reaching 383 million first-time installs and an estimated $919.2 million in consumer spending.

TikTok's adoption has accelerated in 2021 with first-time downloads increasing by two percent from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021 to reach 177.5 million, and increasing by 16 percent from the first quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2021 to reach 205.4 million. This is the most growth the app has experienced since its record-breaking quarter at the start of 2020, when it had more than 315 million installs.

New downloads of TikTok declined by 38 percent year-over-year from almost 619 million in the first half of 2020, but this is partially due to the app's removal from app stores in India. Even so, consumer spending in TikTok increased by 73 percent from $530.2 million in the year-ago period.

The app has now been installed more than three billion times, making it the fifth non-game app to do so. The other four apps that have achieved three billion installs are, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram, all of which are owned by Facebook.

In the second quarter of 2021, TikTok had its biggest quarter-over-quarter growth in consumer spending since the second quarter of 2020, increasing by 39 percent from $384.7 million in the first quarter of 2021 to $534.6 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Globally, consumer spending in TikTok has now passed $2.5 billion. Only 16 non-game apps have accrued more than $1 billion in gross revenue since 2014, and only Tinder, Netflix, YouTube, and Tencent Video have reached more than $2.5 billion.