Banned in India, TikTok turns first non-Facebook app to hit 3 bn download mark on Google Play Store and App Store

TikTok has crossed the 3 billion download mark globally, across the Google Play Store and the App Store. Notably, TikTok has been banned in India over security concerns.

TikTok downloads were stopped when the Indian government banned this Chinese app over security concerns. (Representative Photo) (REUTERS)

Popular video-sharing app TikTok has surpassed the 3 billion download mark globally, according to a report, which states that the app is the first non-Facebook app to achieve this feat. The app has been banned by the Indian government over security concerns last year. The global TikTok app, along with the Chinese iOS version of the app called Douyin, has now crossed the 3 bn download mark and joined three of Facebook's apps on the iOS and Google Play Store combined.

The rise of TikTok to the top has been nothing short of meteoric, and this latest development means that it is now the fifth app (excluding games) on the stores to have crossed the download mark collectively on both the app stores, according to a report by Sensor Tower. The report states that the only other apps to have achieved this feat are three Facebook apps. These are WhatsApp, Instagram, and the Facebook app itself.

As expected, with the increase in the number of downloads on both app stores, the app's earnings have also gone up. Spending inside TikTok has now crossed the $2.5 billion mark globally, the report says, adding that the app has joined the exclusive club of apps including Netflix, Tinder, YouTube and Tencent Video. In the second quarter of 2021, TikTok saw the biggest increase in consumer spending, growing from $384.7 million in the first quarter by 39 percent to 534.6 million in the second quarter.

The report says that downloads of the app were down 38 percent (year-over-year) from the impressive 619 million downloads in the first half of 2020, which can be attributed to the removal of the apps from the app stores here. However, the spending has reportedly increased by up to 73 percent from the $530.2 million it made in the previous year.

TikTok will not have an easy road ahead and will face competition from YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Stories and many other services that are integrating similar features into their services, according to the report. While Indian apps like Mitron, Roposo, Chingari, and ShareChat's Moj will not directly compete with TikTok in the country, their existence abroad could also eventually pose a challenge.