Most Downloaded Apps (2024)
With the number of social media users worldwide rising year after year, and estimated to be 5.17 billion in 2024, it should come as no surprise that social media apps currently rank among the most downloaded apps.
As it stands, half of the 10 most downloaded apps in the United States are social media apps. What does this ranking look like on a global level? In other words, what is the most downloaded app worldwide? Here’s a look at the latest app download rankings.
Mobile app download rankings: top 10
Mobile app |
Developed by |
1. TikTok |
ByteDance |
2. Instagram |
Meta |
3. WhatsApp |
Meta |
4. Facebook |
Meta |
5. Telegram |
Telegram |
6. CapCut |
ByteDance |
7. Temu |
PDD Holdings |
8. Threads |
Meta |
9. Snapchat |
Snap |
10. Facebook Messenger |
Meta |
10 most downloaded apps worldwide: Jun–Aug 2024
A recent analysis of app download rankings from June to August 2024 shows that much like the US’s list, social media apps also heavily dominate the global charts.
Topping the list of app download rankings is ByteDance’s TikTok. The popular social media network also has the honor of being the app on which users spend the most money. It is also the fourth-most used app in terms of time spent, after YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
The next three on the list are all Meta-owned entities, which highlights the company’s dominance in social media. Instagram is in second place and is followed by WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging apps both in the United States and worldwide. Facebook ranks next as the fourth most downloaded app in the world during the period analyzed.
Following this tranche of Meta-owned networks and completing the top five on the app download rankings is messaging app Telegram. CapCut, a video editing app owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, ranks next, in sixth place. The app has been downloaded more than one billion times on Google Play alone. CapCut is followed by Temu, currently the world’s top shopping app.
Another Meta entity, Threads, ranks eighth on the most downloaded apps list. The text-based conversation app developed by Meta that experts say is meant to rival X (formerly known as Twitter) was launched in the summer of 2023. In less than a week, the app received a record-breaking 150 million downloads, making it the app to reach this milestone in the shortest amount of time.
Snapchat follows in ninth place and is ahead of Facebook Messenger, which rounds out the 10 most downloaded apps in the world.
Of these 10 apps, more than half belong to the Meta empire. As many as eight are categorized as social media or messaging apps—the only two not in this category are CapCut and Temu.