Despite ban, TikTok becomes highest grossing app of 2020

"All data is combined iOS + Google Play, except for data from China which is iOS only. If an app has a 'lite' version, that data is included in the respective app's data," the company said in a statement.

New Delhi: Despite India ban and an ongoing legal battle in the US, Chinese short-video making app TikTok has become the highest grossing app globally in 2020 with $540 million in profit, followed by dating app Tinder that grossed $513 million.

According to the data released by app analytics firm Apptopia, YouTube was third with grossing $478 million, followed by Disney+ at $314 million and Tencent Video at $300 million in 2020.

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Netflix app was at the 10th spot with grossing $209 million worldwide.

“All data is combined iOS + Google Play, except for data from China which is iOS only. If an app has a ‘lite’ version, that data is included in the respective app’s data,” the company said in a statement.

At 850 million, TikTok was also the most downloaded app in 2020, followed by WhatsApp at 600 million and Facebook at 540 million downloads worldwide.

Instagram, also a Facebook family app, was fourth with 503 million downloads and Zoom came fifth with 477 million downloads in a pandemic-hit year where video calling became paramount for millions.

Facebook Messenger was sixth with 404 million downloads in the top 10 list.

“Sadly, there are no real surprises here. Four of the apps are Facebook owned. Newcomers include Zoom and Google Meet, enabling us to have remote meetings,” the company said.

“TikTok is no surprise here at the top of both lists,” it added.

“The last three apps in the global list received most of their downloads in the second half of 2020 as TikTok was banned in India. MX TakaTak, Josh Videos and Moj are also social short-form video apps popular in India,” the company said.

2021, however, may have a different listing, with millions shunning WhatsApp over its new policy to either give their consent to sharing data with Facebook or lose their accounts after February 8, as rival Telegram and Signal have seen a definite surge in new users.

At about 500 million users and growing, Telegram has become a major problem for the Facebook corporation.