Will TikTok Ever Stop Growing?
On TikTok, many users create videos joking about downloading TikTok before most other people did or before it was a popular thing to do. As someone who downloaded TikTok around October 2019, I was curious to see how many people have downloaded TikTok at different points in time. Looking at the data for monthly TikTok downloads around the world, it is easy to spot a few key trends and time periods which are highlighted in the graph below.
First, there is a drastic drop in TikTok’s downloads in April 2019. This is due to India’s government temporarily banning TikTok. A court in India ruled in favor of the ban out of concerns that, “it could expose children to sexual predators, pornographic content and cyberbullying.” TikTok proved that they had taken steps to make the app more appropriate and the court reversed the ban.
After the ban was reversed, TikTok’s downloads trended upwards, peaking in March 2020. This peak makes sense because March 2020 was when COVID-19 lockdowns began around the world, giving people more free time to spend on apps. TikTok became a source of connection with others during lockdowns, and many people were creating and sharing videos.
Another noteworthy time period on this chart is when former President Trump threatened to ban TikTok citing concerns that the Chinese owned-app could be collecting data from American users. One might expect that TikTok downloads would rise at that time, while the app was still available for download, however the app’s downloads declined slightly. This may be because people who did not already have the app were concerned that President Trumps’ claims were true, and did not want to download it.
As TikTok’s downloads have increased, the most-followed TikTokers are experiencing a new level of fame. Recently TikTokers became eligible to join SAG-AFTRA, an honor that was previously reserved for actors. This graph compares the five most followed TikTokers in March 2017 compared to March 2021.
One interesting takeaway, is that being the most followed person on TikTok currently takes many more followers than it did in 2017. Baby Ariel was the most followed TikToker in 2017 with 14.4 million followers and now in 2021 Charli D’Amelio holds that title with 109 million followers. This makes sense because TikTok’s downloads and user base have grown over time, as shown in the above graph.
This graph only tracks the five most followed TikTokers for each time period, so it is easy to see that in the last three years, there has been a 100% turnover rate. None of the five most followed TikTokers in 2017, are on the list of the five most followed on the app today. TikTokers like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae quickly moved their way up the top five list to claim the number one and number two spots. It is evidence that just because a creator is the most popular for awhile, a new creator always takes their place eventually.
This map examines TikTok usage in select countries around the world, using all the data that is available. The United States has the most users on this map with over 65 million people using TikTok. Norway has the least with 1 million users. It is important to note that these numbers are also dependent on the amount of people in each country. It makes sense for a larger country like the United States to have more users.
Overall, TikTok is continuing to grow in downloads around the world and it’s most popular users are growing in fame as well. TikTok downloads may never be as high as they were during COVID-19 lockdowns, but the app’s popularity is continuing to grow and will likely remain a popular app for the foreseeable future.
