TikTok has reclaimed its crown as the world’s most downloaded app, dethroning Instagram, which briefly stole the top spot in 2023.
It was a two horse race for most of the year, with TikTok ending on 773 million downloads and Instagram on 759 million, according to data provided by Appfigures and AppMagic. Both apps had higher total downloads in 2024 than 2023.
Most popular apps on iOS and Google Play stores 2024 (mm)
| App | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 773 |
| 759 | |
| 571 | |
| 527 | |
| Temu | 438 |
| Telegram | 409 |
| CapCut | 361 |
| Threads | 322 |
| Snapchat | 302 |
| ChatGPT | 278 |
| WhatsApp Buiness | 271 |
| Messenger | 265 |
| Spotify | 239 |
| Shein | 211 |
Sources: Appfigures, AppMagic
Instagram relies heavily on India for its downloads, the country was responsible for about 40 percent of total downloads in 2024. TikTok is banned in India, so cannot sap that large userbase. China, Indonesia, the United States and Pakistan were all responsible for over 10 percent of TikTok’s downloads in 2024.
The looming TikTok ban in the United States did not scare away new users, with downloads increasing by 13.5 percent on the previous year.
Facebook and WhatsApp, the two other social apps from Meta Platforms, rounded out the top four, with 571 million and 527 million downloads, respectively.
Other impressive climbers include Temu, which increased its downloads by 164 million in 2024. Temu has also faced criticism from the US, which is responsible for 14 percent of all Temu downloads in 2024, due to it avoiding import taxes by shipping in volumes under $800. This law has been amended by the US government, a direct response to Temu and Shein.
Instagram Threads also hit the top 10 on its first year with 322 million downloads. India, the United States and Brazil downloaded Threads the most in 2024.
ChatGPT barely missed out on the top 10, but was a top three downloaded app in the Germany, France and Italy.
In the games market, Roblox was the most installed mobile game in 2024, knocking Subway Surfers off the first spot, which it has held for over four years. Block Blast by Hungry Studio was the standout performer in 2024, and was top of the charts in the United States and United Kingdom.
