Instagram and TikTok : Instagram Overtakes TikTok as World’s Top App in Downloads
TikTok is a social media app dedicated to short-form videos created and consumed by users. The format lends itself to entertainment and comedy, but it is increasingly used for infotainment.
Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available on iPhone and Android. Users can upload photos or videos to the service and share them with their followers or a select group of friends. They can also view, comment, and like posts shared by their friends on Instagram.
Instagram and TikTok both support short-form video content
Following TikTok in 2020, Instagram introduced “Reels,” a short-form video feature. Wired reported that Instagram has overtaken TikTok as the world’s most downloaded app. The US-based photo and video-sharing platform regained lost ground by launching Reels, a feature that replicated TikTok’s short-length videos. This information is according to a report by British media outlet The Guardian.
Mark Zuckerberg launched Instagram in 2010, and it quickly became a huge hit. The app helped lay the foundation for “influencer culture.” However, in recent years, its home territory in the US has faced stiff competition from China’s TikTok platform.
This feature has greatly helped give the platform a competitive edge. The app was downloaded 76.7 billion times worldwide in 2023, a 20 percent increase from 2022. In contrast, TikTok was downloaded 73.3 billion times worldwide in 2023, a 4 percent increase compared to 2022. Between 2018 and 2022, TikTok was the most downloaded app worldwide.
Market analyst firm Sensor Tower stated, “Instagram’s resurgence is likely due to the popularity of the Reel feature. Additionally, features like Snapchat-like photo sharing and disappearing story-videos have helped boost the platform’s popularity.”
Farhad Divecha, owner and managing director of UK-based digital marketing firm Accuracast, said that Instagram benefited by reacting quickly to the threat of competition posed by TikTok. Additionally, the platform’s popularity among a broader demographic has helped keep Instagram ahead. “One of the positive aspects of Instagram is that it appeals to a wider population and is not just popular with kids like TikTok,” he added.
According to Sensor Tower, Instagram has approximately 1.5 billion active monthly users. In comparison, TikTok has over 110 million monthly active users. However, TikTok users are more engaged, spending an average of 95 minutes per day on the app, while Instagram users spend an average of 62 minutes.
Facebook founder and Instagram CEO Mark Zuckerberg has identified TikTok as a serious competitive threat in recent years. In 2022, he said that numerous competitors were trying to divert users from his company’s apps and that platforms like TikTok were “growing very fast.”
A report that same year alleged that Meta paid a Republican consulting firm to create public distrust surrounding the company’s competitors. TikTok has faced significant political opposition in the US amid ongoing concerns about the influence of Chinese ownership. A US congressional panel is considering a bill this week that would force or ban TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, from selling the platform. US lawmakers and politicians elsewhere in the Western world have expressed concerns about claims that the Chinese government has access to TikTok user data. However, TikTok has consistently denied these claims.
