TikTok could also be again, however that hasn’t prevented different Chinese language opponents from gaining customers. Within the lead as much as a ban on TikTok — which kicked off Sunday and lasted a day — a variety of different video apps rose via the ranks and now dominate the App Retailer’s Prime 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 reasonably be a part of one other Chinese language app just 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. legislation, regardless of President-elect Trump’s assurances that he’ll lengthen the deadline for the TikTok ban.
As a substitute, each app shops’ high charts proceed to replicate the shift to different TikTok alternate 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 Prime Charts as of Monday morning. Favorited, an app devoted to livestreams, is No. 15.
Social community Bluesky additionally simply added an non-compulsory customized video feed, nevertheless, 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 just a few extra downloads because of the TikTok ban and now has 28.29 million customers, up from 27.5 million final week.
In response to estimates from app retailer intelligence supplier Appfigures, RedNote, Flip, and Clapper, all noticed a large progress spurt final week from single-digit thousand downloads per day earlier in January to tens of hundreds of U.S. downloads on Friday.
RedNote, in the meantime, was receiving a whole lot of hundreds 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 making an attempt to be taught the language final week.
At present, 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 reviews. It’s now the No. 4 high 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 a large surge of progress, shifting 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 at the moment the No. 3 app (excluding video games).
For Android customers, the quick video app, Scoopz, made it into the No. 4 place on Google Play whereas the quick drama app ReelShort is No. 7 on Google Play’s listing of high apps, excluding video games.
Lastly, Flip, which focuses on social commerce, grew by 580,000 downloads in January, the info signifies. (Nonetheless, Flip additionally ran many TikTok adverts over the previous week, resulting in these positive factors.) It’s No. 10 on the U.S. App Retailer and No. 9 on Google Play’s high 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 Prime Apps chart and No. 5 on Google Play’s Prime 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 have been used).
Nonetheless, this briefly drove a variety 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 high charts.
Different apps that rose a whole lot 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 determine to maneuver away from no less than a few of their latest backup selections for a alternative.
