Top 10 Most Downloaded Apps of 2021
This pandemic is giving everyone enough time to explore through their mobile phones. During this quarantine period, smartphones are playing a major role in filling in time. And people are spending more time on social media than ever. This has brought an advantage to many apps as it’s increasing their download counts and revenues.
Especially in 2021, with the advent of the global pandemic, the trend of downloading apps has drastically changed compared to years before; we have downloaded the most popular apps to help us deal with the pandemic. App Annie released its quarterly report on app trends in July, featuring the top apps in America and globally. Sensor Tower report reveals TikTok had the highest number of downloads in 2021.
Let’s see what are the most downloaded apps of 2021.
Although many have seen a decline from their download totals from 2020, TikTok had 850 million downloads; this was an increase of almost 200 million when compared to the still impressive 656 million it achieved in 2021.
Messenger decreased from 404 million app installs last year to 268 million this year, and WhatsApp dropped more than 200 million app installs as well. The installation numbers for Meta’s flagship app, Facebook, declined as well, with 540 million in 2020 compared to 416 million in 2021, and Zoom had 477 million installs in 2020 but 300 million in 2021. It’s strange to think that last year Google Meet and Netflix, both had made it to the list. But this year, they weren’t on the list.
Also, some of the most downloaded apps in December 2021 are Snapchat, Tiktok, Disney+, Tinder, and YouTube. As per the SensorTower report, YouTube topped the chart for the highest-grossing app in December 2021.
Trending Apps In U.S.
In terms of U.S. downloads, the top ten listing looks different, with HBO Max significantly outpacing Netflix and Disney+, both of whom were among the top 10 in 2020, for the top streaming system by many installs in 2021:
- TikTok: 94 million
- Instagram: 64 million
- Snapchat: 56 million
- Cash App: 56 million
- Zoom: 52 million
- Messenger: 51 million
- Facebook: 47.3 million
- WhatsApp: 47.2 million
- YouTube: 47 million
- HBO Max: 45 million
In terms of music downloads, Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, YouTube Music, and iHeart lead the way. With SiriusXM and Audiomack rounding out the top 10. It is no surprise that games make up more than half of the apps in Google Play and Apple’s App Store, and more than half of all app downloads.
One of the top 10 most-downloaded mobile games for 2021 is a game from almost a decade ago. Roblox, Project Makeover, Among Us, Bridge Race, and High Heels are some of the most popular games in the U.S. Talking about shopping apps, despite Amazon’s dominance in the U.S. with 40 million downloads, three apps command more installs globally than the U.S. retail giant. Shopee has 203 million, SHEIN has 190 million, and Mesh has 153 million. Our daily average time spent on apps is higher than it was in 2019.
list of the countries with the most daily hours spent using apps:
- Brazil: 5.4 hours
- Indonesia: 5.3 hours
- India: 4.9 hours
- South Korea: 4.8 hours
- Mexico: 4.7 hours
- Turkey: 4.5 hours
- Japan: 4.4 hours
- Canada: 4.1 hours
- USA: 3.9 hours
- UK: 3.8 hours
- Russia: 3.7 hours
- Argentina: 3.6 hours
- Australia: 3.5 hours
- France: 3.5 hours
- Germany: 3.5 hours
- China: 3.1 hours
(Source: Forbes)*The data shown here might not be accurate for December 2021*
In the EMEA countries, the pandemic-related apps dominated the leading breakout apps. These apps deliver information, vaccinations, and contact tracing. App Annie also stated that most of the U.S.’s top breakout apps do not have any direct connection to the pandemic. Recent examples of apps with significant growth in the U.S. include PictureThis, which gives you the name of a plant on photographing them, and Poparazzi, which is explicitly anti-selfie.
So these were some trending apps of 2021. Which app do you use the most, do let us know!
