This is a world where it’s hard to imagine life without our favorite mobile applications. Nevertheless it’d be useful to know which ones are the pick of the crop.
Applications perform all sort of tasks and entertain us in a myriad of different ways. However their most important function is to serve as a link between people. Sharing experiences, jokes, thoughts, and any other kind of information is key to keep the world turning.
Below we are going to examine the five applications that registered the largest number of new users in 2021. What are these apps for, where do they come from, what is their contribution? The list goes in order from least amount of downloads to the absolute ruler of popular apps. But don’t get confused, each and every one of the examples mentioned pulled a gigantic amount of new users last year.
Let’s start with a communication app!
1. Telegram
329 million downloads
This cloud-based instant messaging service app also provides end-to-end encrypted video calling among other features. It was launched by the brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov in august of 2013. First for iOS and a little later for Android that same year. By then Telegram announced it had 100, 000 daily active users and in just a couple more months the app had reached 15 million.
This application demonstrates the need we all share for a place to communicate without fear of being judged or spied on. Telegram is a good option to connect and interact with other free speech lovers.
2. WhatsApp
395 million downloads
WhatsApp Messenger is an American instant messaging and voice-over-IP service. It allows users to share content such as text and voice messages images, documents, user locations, and make voice and video calls. This application runs on mobile devices and it requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up. However users can also access the app from desktop computers.
WhatsApp was founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum. It took a while from their first attempts to build the app and communicate among friends to transform into the app we know today. By the year 2015 it had become the most widely used messaging application.
3. Facebook
416 million downloads
This is a social media and networking service app that allow people all around the world to chat with each other. Users can also share pictures, videos and even make live transmissions. It was famously founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and initially membership was limited to Harvard students. Nevertheless it gradually expanded to other American universities.
Today it would be difficult to find someone who has not heard the name of this company. A movie directed by David Fincher and a communication revolution later, this social network has become a true monolith of the digital age.
4. Instagram
545 million downloads
This application focuses on the sharing of photos and videos. It was founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger under the name Burbn. Originally it had the objective of serving as a check-in app. But later its creators decided to change it to emphasize the sharing images aspect that made it popular.
Instagram has suffered controversies due to its effect on the mental health of many teenagers. However it would be impossible to deny the positive impact and influence that this app has had on communications worldwide.
5. TikTok
656 million downloads
This video-focused app is the international version of Douyin, which was originally released in mainland China in September of 2016. Only a year later its owner company, ByteDance Ltd., launched it for iOS and Android everywhere else. However it wasn’t available until 2018, after it merged with another Chinese social media application named Musical.ly.
Morning Consult, a decision intelligence company, ranked TikTok third in its fastest growing brands list of 2020 but nowadays you’d be hard-pressed to think of a competitor to the throne of the most popular app in the planet. The sheer numbers, courtesy of Forbes (learn more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2021/12/27/top-10-most-downloaded-apps-and-games-of-2021-tiktok-telegram-big-winners/?sh=36abdf2f3a1f) make this very apparent.
These five apps have proven through their similarities that people’s primary concern when it comes to these digital tools is undoubtedly communication. The desire to share and stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape is a growing force.
The new generations, far from adapting to the internet Little by Little, have molded themselves from the beginning thanks to the diversity of mobile applications contained in their cell phones. Reviewing the progress of these technologies can help us to better understand the digital world and anticipate the trends it sets for us.
