The high-flying short video app, TikTok, has hit a new milestone, recording 1 billion monthly active users globally this summer, the company announced in a blog post on Monday.
More than 1 billion people around the world now come to TikTok every month to be entertained as they learn, laugh, or discover something new. We’re honored to be a home for our immensely diverse community of families, small businesses, and creators who transform into our favorite stars.
The result indicates a 45 percent jump since July 2020, as the app spreads like wildfire around the world. The United States, Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia are the biggest markets for the popular short-video app, the company said.
Compared to every other social media app, TikTok has been on an unprecedented pace since it was launched in Beijing in 2016, setting unexpected records in a short while.
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The company previously said it had about 55 million global users by January 2018. That number rose to more than 271 million by December 2018, 508 million by December 2019, and 689 million by July 2021.
With this speed of growth, TikTok will soon catch up with Facebook which reported 2.9 billion monthly active users as of the end of June 2021, according to its latest quarterly report.
TikTok faced existential threat during Trump’s presidency due to its link to China. The video sharing platform is owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, and was considered a threat to US national security by Trump, who alleged it’s being used by the Chinese military to collect personal data of American users.
Following the allegation, Trump signed an executive order mandating TikTok to sell to an American company. But the social media app got a reprieve last November when a federal judge halted the order. The judge ruled that Trump’s order would “have the effect of shutting down, within the United States, a platform for expressive activity used by approximately 700 million individuals globally. Over 100 million of these TikTok users are within the United States, and at least 50 million of these US users use the app on a daily basis.”
However, Trump’s order had prompted TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, to consider making some drastic changes, including moving its headquarters from China to London, to ease US pressure.
Earlier this year, TikTok appointed ByteDance’s CFO Shouzi Chew, a Singaporean national, as the new chief executive officer of the company.
TikTok’s troubles in the US were largely eased in June when President Joe Biden signed a new executive order, unbounding the restrictions on apps of Chinese origin operating in the United States, and altering former President Donald Trump’s many executive orders targeting Chinese apps.
TikTok has since then, introduced more features, including e-commerce, which spurred its growth around the world. Earlier this month, TikTok toppled YouTube in the US and UK on average view time per a user on the app, indicating high level of engagement.
With most of its US troubles laid to rest, at least for now, TikTok is soaring to be the largest social media app. The 1 billion monthly user’s milestone is an indication that the love for the app has escalated far beyond young people.