The yearly figures of most downloaded applications in 2022 show some insight into the kinds of mobile applications that gained popularity during one of the most isolated years in recent history.
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The yearly figures of most downloaded applications in 2022 show some insight into the kinds of mobile applications that gained popularity during one of the most isolated years in recent history.
The entertainment industry is out in front with the runaway success of TikTok. Tiktok is a Chinese developed application that allows the user to create and share short videos whilst also viewing those created by others. Despite the US president himself, and many others claiming it was a tool for the Chinese Communist party to record data, Tik Tok was the most downloaded application of 2022 in the United States with 89 Million downloads. 60% of the users of TikTok in the US are between the ages of 16 - 24.
Zoom is becoming one of the most important tools on the planet with the rise of working remotely. Many believe it was the Covid pandemic that caused the success of the platform, however, according to Forbes, Zoom was the fastest growing video conferencing tool since 2016. Its success, according to the Forbes article, is attributed to its ease of use, maximum simplicity, minimum effort. So when the pandemic forced everyone to start video conferencing, the most popular app of the time skyrocketed with 81 million downloads in just 2022 alone.
The social media titans Instagram, Facebook Messenger and Facebook unsurprisingly sit firmly in the 4th, 5th & 6th positions and WhatsApp is at 9th, all of which fall under the Facebook umbrella.
Cash App is an application providing free peer to peer transactions of currency or bitcoin, as well as 0% commission on stock trading. Its primary form of revenue is in bitcoin trade. An easy to use Fintech tool that only requires a debit card attachment. Cash App also has a business account that allows payment from customers and became increasingly popular as the use of physical currency further declined in 2022.
Snapchat is another messaging service that has the distinct feature of impermanent chat history. While some applications are increasingly attempting to save and backup as much data as possible, it seems the market for the impermanent is as popular. All messages, photos and videos are only available for a short period to the intended user before being deleted. The US now has the largest Snapchat user base in the world. Snapchat was downloaded 51 million times in 2022.
The latest of the online viewing apps to fight back at Netflix is Disney Plus. With Disneys huge film releases they decided to create their own viewing platform. The platform was launched in November 2019 and as cinemas closed down, the popularity of digitally releasing films began to rise. In 2022 with cinemas opening around the world, digitally released content is keeping people subscribed to their online viewing platforms as an alternative to the cinema for new releases.
The most used of all digital viewing platforms is Netflix. Only shadowed in download figures due to the launch of Disney+ at the end of the previous year. Netflix is the titan to beat when it comes to the original content and online streaming services but its success has brought about a number of competitors other than Disney plus. Amazon plus, Apple TV, Hulu and HBO max.
Social Media: Tik tok/Facebook/Instagram = 204 Million downloads
Messaging applications: FB messenger/Whatsapp/Snapchat = 157 Million downloads
Online streaming services: Disney and Netflix = 90 Million downloads
Remote Meeting Service: 81 Million downloads
Fintech transactions/Trading: 52 Million downloads
