TikTok tops App Store downloads for the fifth quarter in a row, reports Sensor Tower

It seems that TikTok frenzy will not die anytime sooner. According to the latest Sensor Tower report, the short video sharing network was the most downloaded application on Apple’s App Store globally in the first quarter of 2019. On Android, TikTok was the third most downloaded app, trailing WhatsApp and Facebook.

According to the report, “Messenger was the second best performing app by downloads worldwide in Q1 2019 with close to 209 million installs. The next highest performing app was TikTok, followed by Facebook and Instagram.”

The report further added, “The top 10 apps were the same as the previous quarter, with the top five all retaining their rankings from Q4 2018. Facebook once again had four of the top five apps. Video editing app Biugo and photo editing app PicsArt entered the top 20 apps worldwide for the first time in Q1. First-time users in India helped both apps achieve new install highs in the quarter.”

According to another Sensor Tower report that was released recently, TikTok’s meteoric rise can be attributed to its growth in India where the application saw 88 million new users in the first quarter. The application is said to have close to 260 million users in India.

TikTok may not have the same high numbers in the quarter considering it faced a brief ban in India last month. The ban, according to reports, may have cost about 15 million downloads in India.

Apart from India, TikTok has been under scrutiny in other markets as well.

Earlier this year, TikTok had to pay a record $5.7 million to settle claims by the US government that illegally collected personal information from children. The settlement with the US government also included the app taking down all videos made by children younger than 13. In India as well, the Madras High Court asked the platform to ensure it doesn’t allow child pornography.