The Chinese video app overtook Facebook in usage last year.

According to digital analytics company App Annie, Chinese video-sharing app and social media community TikTok was the most downloaded mobile app in the entirety of 2020, beating out Facebook Messenger for first place. For several years now, the top spot has been dominated by either Facebook itself or apps owned by Facebook, so this is an impressive departure for the norm, especially outside of TikTok’s home country.

TikTok named as the most downloaded app of 2020 https://t.co/GLQjdonscw

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 10, 2021

Surprisingly, TikTok is not the most-downloaded app in China, though the app that is, video app Douyin, is owned by the same company that owns TikTok, ByteDance. Back in 2020, due to its Chinese origins, then-US President Donald Trump attempted to ban the downloading and usage of TikTok in the United States on the grounds that it posed a risk to national security. ByteDance repeatedly denied these allegations, refusing to sell off their western stake in the app. Following the beginning of his term in January, current US President Joe Biden withdrew Trump’s executive order against TikTok, and no further concerns about the app’s security have been raised.

TikTok overtook Facebook to become the most downloaded app globally in 2020, according to Nikkei Asia https://t.co/bzls71fONw pic.twitter.com/Ra74uC7pcG

— Gadgets 360 (@Gadgets360) August 10, 2021

According to App Annie, usage of TikTok in the west has already surpassed other popular video-sharing platforms like YouTube. “The total viewing time for TikTok in the US and UK is longer than that for YouTube, and short videos will continue to attract attention,” said Chuzen Kin, marketing manager at App Annie.