TikTok could also be again, however that hasn’t prevented different Chinese language rivals from gaining customers. Within the lead as much as a ban on TikTok — which kicked off Sunday and lasted a day — plenty of different video apps rose by the ranks and now dominate the App Retailer’s High Charts.
The Chinese language app RedNote (which is listed on the app shops as Xiaohongshu) grew to become the No. 1 app within the U.S. final week, adopted by video apps like Clapper, Flip, and others. On Monday, following TikTok’s restoration of service, RedNote retained its No. 1 spot on the App Retailer, after having attracted some 700,000 new U.S. customers.
TikTok customers’ transfer to RedNote was meant to ship a sign to U.S. lawmakers and Meta alike that they might slightly be a part of one other Chinese language app much like TikTok than return to Instagram Reels.
Although TikTok is again on-line, the app shops aren’t but internet hosting it for obtain; app marketplaces nonetheless should abide by U.S. regulation, regardless of President-elect Trump’s assurances that he’ll lengthen the deadline for the TikTok ban.
As an alternative, each app shops’ prime charts proceed to mirror the shift to different TikTok options.
In Apple’s U.S. App Retailer, for example, video apps together with RedNote, Likee, Clapper, and Flip maintain the No. 1, 2, 4, and 10 spots within the Total High Charts as of Monday morning. Favorited, an app devoted to livestreams, is No. 15.
Social community Bluesky additionally simply added an optionally available customized video feed, nonetheless, its app has dropped out of the highest 10 place it held final week on the U.S. App Retailer. It’s No. 13 as of Monday morning on the App Retailer and No. 15 on Google Play.
Nonetheless, Bluesky gained a couple of extra downloads because of the TikTok ban and now has 28.29 million customers, up from 27.5 million final week.
In accordance with estimates from app retailer intelligence supplier Appfigures, RedNote, Flip, and Clapper, all noticed an enormous progress spurt final week from single-digit thousand downloads per day earlier in January to tens of 1000’s of U.S. downloads on Friday.
RedNote, in the meantime, was receiving tons of of 1000’s of downloads.
RedNote gained 818,000 new U.S. installs throughout the App Retailer and Google Play throughout January 2025. As a result of the app is localized in Mandarin, language studying app Duolingo additionally reported a 216% spike in U.S. customers attempting to be taught the language final week.
Presently, it’s the No. 1 app within the U.S. on the U.S. App Retailer and Google Play, excluding video games.
Clapper, a TikTok different geared toward teenagers and adults ages 17 and up, gained 646,000 downloads on the App Retailer and Google Play within the U.S. On Friday, it added 87,000 new downloads, or 1,030% greater than the 7,000 new downloads it noticed again on January 1, Appfigures studies. It’s now the No. 4 prime app (excluding video games) on the U.S. App Retailer and No. 2 on Google Play.
Likee, a brief video app, is No. 2 on the U.S. App Retailer and No. 3 on Google Play. It noticed an enormous surge of progress, transferring from No. 202 on the U.S. App Retailer on Saturday to No. 2 by 3 a.m. on Sunday, Appfigures says. In complete, it noticed 283,000 downloads throughout January thus far. On Google Play, it jumped to the No. 8 place throughout each apps and video games, on Sunday evening and has since dropped to No. 11. It’s presently the No. 3 app (excluding video games).
For Android customers, the brief video app, Scoopz, made it into the No. 4 place on Google Play whereas the brief drama app ReelShort is No. 7 on Google Play’s listing of prime apps, excluding video games.
Lastly, Flip, which focuses on social commerce, grew by 580,000 downloads in January, the information signifies. (Nonetheless, Flip additionally ran many TikTok advertisements over the previous week, resulting in these good points.) It’s No. 10 on the U.S. App Retailer and No. 9 on Google Play’s prime charts, excluding video games.
Regardless of many TikTok customers’ signaling that they wouldn’t use Instagram, Meta’s app continued to carry a excessive rank on each app shops, together with No. 8 on the U.S. Apple App Retailer High Apps chart and No. 5 on Google Play’s High Apps chart as of Monday morning.
VPN apps noticed a short surge, too
After the TikTok ban went into impact, U.S. customers instantly tried putting in VPN apps to work across the restrictions to no avail. (TikTok’s cell app remained blocked even when VPNs had been used).
Nonetheless, this quickly drove plenty of new U.S. customers to VPN apps like VPN – Tremendous Limitless Proxy, which grew from the No. 91 app to the No. 3 app inside 36 hours. One other app, VPN – Quick VPN Tremendous, climbed 155 spots throughout that very same time, and Nord VPN hit No. 9 after climbing 160 spots within the prime charts.
Different apps that rose tons of of spots in a single day after the ban included X-VPN, Proton VPN, Free VPN .org, and Categorical VPN.
The app retailer charts are prone to quickly shift once more as U.S. customers understand they’ll return to TikTok and resolve to maneuver away from a minimum of a few of their latest backup selections for a substitute.
