Discover the Most Downloaded Apps in the World


Do you think you have the world's most downloaded applications? Since these are the most popular applications in the world, the law of averages suggests you should at least have some of them. The most important app categories for you may include messaging services, online stores, delivery apps, video games, dating platforms, health monitoring widgets and many others. While each category of app will have many different individual applications within them. The popularity of certain apps is down to many factors, not least of which is useability. As we will see, the most popular apps today tend to be the ones which are most user friendly.
At oneHOWTO, we help you discover the 10 most download apps in the world. In doing so, we shed some light into why some apps are more popular than others.
It is one of the most popular social networks on the planet, especially among younger demographics. It offers the possibility of publishing photos and video with other users, using various forms of interaction such as likes and comments. Profiles are created to follow other accounts, as well as to build up your own following. This can help to share promotional information or simply share funny posts.
You can add hashtags to posts to help users find your content. This makes it easier to categorize when searching for a specific topic. Features such as Stories and Threads utilize developments from other platforms such as SnapChat and Twitter to create a more thorough use experience.
If you don't want someone else to see your posts, discover how to block someone on Instagram with our related guide.

TikTok
Although Instagram has been popular with younger people for a long time, its dominance with this demographic has waned thanks to a little Chinese upstart known as TikTok. This mobile app is designed for those of us who seem to have been biologically wired to have shorter attention spans. Whether this means younger generations are less able to focus deeply or they are simply better at filtering for relevant information is still up for debate.
Regardless of the social repercussions, TikTok allows users to view a lot of content in a short space of time. Designed to have very short videos, TikTok allows users to create very bespoke content with many personalization options such as filters and music. It has also become known for being the place to launch trends and create public profiles. There is no wonder TikTok was the most downloaded mobile app in 2024[1].
See why so many people are building their profile on this platform with our article explaining how to make money on TikTok.

WhatsApp Messenger
While TikTok may be the most downloaded app over all, WhatsApp is the leading instant messaging application in much of the world. It is among the most used apps due to its multifunctionality. It uses internet data to allow you to send and receive messages, videos, images, audios, documents, audio recordings, locations, gifs, stickers and more. As a communication service, you can make free calls and video calls to your contacts without the need for a telecom company.
WhatsApp Messenger is automatically integrated into your contact list, a factor that sets it apart from other applications. It does not require entering a PIN or password to access the service.

Despite the passage of time and the fact that other social networks have surpassed it in terms of use and number of downloads, Facebook is still among the most downloaded applications in the world. It was created to keep people in touch with both people we meet in meatspace and those we encounter online. This allows us to share information about our lives. Although it has proved useful for staying in touch with family and friends, it is also good for promoting small businesses.

Temu
This is an e-commerce website founded in 2022. Despite its relative youth, Temu has become incredibly popular in this short space of time. This app mainly offers electronics, fashion, beauty products, household items, toys and non-food items. It does so at a great discount compared to many other retailers. All products are shipped directly from China to the different countries where online shopping is done on the same app.

CapCut
CapCut is a free video editing app. It is easy to use and is available on both Android and Apple mobile devices, as well as in a desktop version. Using a wide variety of tools, it offers the possibility of creating and editing videos, including text and audio. Being very intuitive and easy to use, it is accessible to almost any user. This makes it particularly popular for persons who wish to publish audio and video content on the other most downloaded apps.

Telegram
Telegram is another of the most downloaded applications in the world which belongs to the instant messaging category. It also allows you to send files and carry out mass communication. Messages are saved (or archived if you want to hide them) in the cloud, offering the possibility of forwarding, timed deletion, making calls and conferences and search actions.
Whether a user wants to use WhatsApp, Telegram or another messenger service seems to depend greatly on location. Telegram is a good example, since it is very popular in countries such as India, but has very little presence in countries like the US.
Discover what is a Telegram supergroup to learn more about using this popular application.

Threads
Although linked closely to Instagram, Threads is actually a separate app. It allows users to share messages, photos and videos only with a pre-selected group of close friends in their contact list. It also serves to participate in public conversations and share text updates.

Spotify
Among the most downloaded apps in the world, Spotify is the most popular audio streaming service. Spotify offers the possibility of listening to recorded music and digital podcasts restricted by copyright, including more than 100 million songs from record labels and media companies. More than 3 million music videos can also be played on Spotify. A recent development has been the ability to listen to audiobooks on the Spotify app with a premium account.
If you have limited data, our article asking how many megabytes does Spotify use might help you stay in control of your usage.

ChatGPT
The new tool developed by OpenAI in 2022 allows you to have a conversation with an interface created using artificial intelligence. ChatGPT is an advance language model which allows you to interact as if having a conversation with another person.
In only a very short time, it has become an integral app for content creators of all kinds. Advancements are being made with an insane regularity, meaning we are only witnessing the beginning of its ability. With more and more users every day, it is likely ChatGPT will be going up the charts of the most downloaded apps for mobile, desktop and other devices.
If you want to see what other companies are doing with AI technology, take a look at our article asking what is Gemini in Google messages?

If you want to read similar articles to Discover the Most Downloaded Apps in the World, we recommend you visit our Electronics category.
1. Ceci, L. (2025). Leading mobile apps worldwide in YTD2024, by downloads.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1285960/top-downloaded-mobile-apps-worldwide/