TikTok world’s top-grossing app, lifetime consumer spends touch $6.3 bn 

Bytedance-owned TikTok, a continuing social media sensation, was the top-grossing (non-gaming) app in the world in the September quarter (Q3 2022), with consumers spending $914.4 million on it. That brings lifetime total consumer spending on TikTok to nearly $6.3 billion, according to data from Sensor Tower. 

“TikTok was the No. 1 revenue-generating non-game app on the App Store, while on Google Play it came second to Google One, which maintained its No. 1 spot with a little more than $330 million,” Sensor Tower revealed. “TikTok also broke another record in Q3 2022 by continuing its streak as the most revenue by any mobile game or non-game app in a quarter for the fourth straight quarter,” the app analytics provider added. 

In terms of downloads too, TikTok reigned supreme. It was the top-downloaded mobile app during the quarter, clocking 196.5 million installs across app marketplaces. The Chinese app ranked ahead of Meta’s Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger as well as Snapchat, Telegram and Spotify, which made up the top 10. 

TikTok is currently available in 155 countries (barring India where it has been banned since June 2020) and in 75 languages. It has more than a billion monthly active users, who spend an average of 95 minutes per day on it, which amounts to one of the highest engagement rates for any app. 

TikTok’s dominance in Q3 2022 came amidst declining consumer app spending and downloads. According to Sensor Tower, “Global consumer spending on in-app purchases, premium apps, and subscriptions across the App Store and Google Play declined by 4.8 per cent year-over-year to $31.6 billion in Q3 2022. App adoption also fell year-over-year, though not as sharply, declining by 1 per cent to 35.3 billion.” 

App revenues generated on Apple’s marketplace were more than 2X of Google Play’s, though it fell 2.3 per cent YoY to $21.2 billion. Google Play, meanwhile, saw a steeper decline, garnering ~$10.4 billion in consumer spends, down 9.6 percent YoY. TikTok, YouTube, Google One, Tinder, and Disney+ were the top five revenue-generating apps during the quarter.

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