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TikTok tops 3 billion downloads worldwide, the first non-Facebook app to do so
- The short video app was also the most downloaded and highest-grossing in the first half of this year
- Although installs were down in the first six months year on year, user spending soared by 73 per cent
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TikTok, and its Chinese sister app Douyin, has become the fifth non-game app to surpass 3 billion global installs across app stores, a tier that used to be the exclusive domain of Facebook, despite growing competition and increasing global tensions, according to app tracking firm Sensor Tower.
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The four other apps are WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram, all owned by the Silicon Valley-based social networking company.
The short video app, developed by Beijing-based ByteDance, has amassed more than US$2.5 billion in consumer spending worldwide since its launch in 2016. Only four other non-game apps have managed to reach the same level: Tinder, Netflix, YouTube and Tencent Video.
TikTok was also the most downloaded and highest-grossing non-game app worldwide in the first half of 2021, reaching nearly 383 million first-time installs and about US$919.2 million in consumer spending.
Although installs in the first six months were down 38 per cent compared to the same period last year, user spending in the app grew 73 per cent.
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Continued growth comes despite the fact that in India, one of the app’s biggest markets in terms of users, the app remains unavailable after it was banned on national security grounds last year.
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