TikTok is the first 3 billion-download app that isn't owned by Facebook

Tiktok On iPhone (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

TikTok has been downloaded three billion times worldwide.
The video social network is the first app that isn't owned by Facebook to reach the milestone.

TikTok, the controversial video social network from BydeDance, has been downloaded three billion times globally according to new figures by Sensor Tower. That makes it the first app by a company other than Facebook to reach that milestone.

According to the report, TikTok was the most downloaded and highest-grossing app in the first half of 2021 when you take games out of the equation. 383 million installs during that period reportedly meant an estimated $919.2 million in consumer spending.

In terms of quarter-over-quarter growth, Q2 of 2021 was the best yet, according to the report.

In Q2 2021, TikTok saw its greatest quarter-over-quarter growth in consumer spending since Q2 2020, climbing 39 percent to $534.6 million from $384.7 million in the previous quarter. TikTok's adoption has also accelerated in 2021, as first-time downloads climbed 2 percent Q/Q to 177.5 million in Q1 2021, and surged 16 percent Q/Q to 205.4 million Q2 2021, the most growth the app has seen since its record-breaking Q1 2020 when it accumulated more than 315 million installs, the most any app has seen in a single quarter.

All of this means TikTok is quite the App Store powerhouse and eclipses some other big names that have sought to borrow its features, including the likes of YouTube and Snapchat.

TikTok continues to iterate, with the recent news that it is now allowing all creators to post three-minute videos for the first time. TikTok hopes that will allow creators to tell even richer stories via their feeds, although we'll have to wait and see whether that happens or not.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

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