TikTok is one of the most popular video platforms of the world but this China-based app was banned by the Indian government a couple of years back due to issues related to national security.
TikTok is facing problems in other countries as well, recently it was under scrutiny of US regulators and few lawmakers are demanding a ban on it as they feel that TikTok is a threat to national security.
Launched in 2016, TikTok’s popularity touched the sky in 2022 when the whole world suffered from COVID-19 pandemic but at the same time, photo sharing app, Instagram launched Reels – a new feature which allowed their users to share short video clips. This was an attempt from Instagram to capture the target segment of TikTok especially the Gen Z.
Slowly and steadily, Instagram captured the market and in 2023, it became the most downloaded app pushing TikTok to the second spot.
Instagram was certainly way ahead of TikTok in terms of market strategies, customer satisfaction and retention and in the last three months of 2023 only, it gained 13 million new customers. As per a report, the number of active monthly users of Instagram was 1.47 billion at the end of 2023 and on the other hand, TikTok lost 12 million users in the same time period and ended 2023 with 1.12 billion monthly active users.
However, the rate of user engagement is higher at TikTok in comparison to Instagram or any other app. In the last quarter of 2023, TikTok users spent an average of 95 minutes on the app which is way higher in comparison to 62 minutes on Instagram, 30 minutes on micro-blogging app X (formerly Twitter) and 19 minutes on Snapchat.
Will TikTok be able to regain its position? What do you think? Share your views with us.
