COVID 19 impact : TikTok crosses 2 billion downloads on iOS & Android, records best quarter for any app

Video-sharing app TikTok has reportedly surpassed 2 billion downloads across Android and iOS devices. The milestone comes months after the app crossed 1.5 billion downloads in December 2019.

The reason for the sudden surge in the number of downloads for TikTok is said to be the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has forced people to stay at home and find new ways to keep themselves entertained. Data from SensorTower shows that TikTok was downloaded 315 million times during Q1 2020, which is a quarterly record for any app.

Outside China, India is TikTok’s largest market, which accounts for over 30.3 percent or 611 million app downloads

“While TikTok was on the ascent before 2020, the app has hit new levels of popularity so far this year. Its record-breaking Q1 came during a global pandemic, leading in part to an increase in downloads, engagement, and revenue. The continuous rise of TikTok gives it an ever-bigger foundation to not only enjoy success for the short-term, but build for the long-term to keep competitors — both existing and emerging — at bay,” the SensorTower report read.

The report further reveals that TikTok generated a significantly higher revenue from its iOS app compared to Android. iOS users spent over USD 435.3 million in lifetime revenue, compared to USD 21.4 million in revenue on Android. The majority of this spending came from China, which contributed 72.3 percent of the total revenue.