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| Tik Tok has over 1 billion monthly active users |
TikTok has reported that its monthly users have crossed one billion. For the platform launched in August 2018, this is a large number and it is being monitored by governments including the US. They worry about his seat, and in Beijing the bytes are pulsing.
According to data from app analytics firm SensorTower, the platform's popularity soared during the pandemic and became the most downloaded app worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, with around 315 million downloads in the quarter alone.
Bytedance's 2020 revenue more than doubled year-over-year, to $34.3 billion.
SensorTower said the platform has installed 3.2 billion apps since its launch, including information for the Chinese version of Douyin.
Compared to August 2020, the average number of monthly users of the platform increased by 25% in August. As of June of this year, Bytedance was valued at $425 billion.
Other platforms that have tried to replicate TikTok's massive success have developed their own short video products. Facebook's Instagram platform introduced the Reels post in August of last year.
Snapchat Spotlight launched in November. Even the YouTube video giant has entered this territory with YouTube Shorts.
But the TikTok platform continues to grow. A report released earlier this month found that users of the platform spend more time viewing its content than YouTube users.
Despite the obstacles, Tik Tok continues to grow
Vanessa Pappas, COO of TikTok, thanked users in a video on the platform for making it so special.
There are reports that ByteDance has indefinitely postponed its IPO plan due to the shutdown of tech companies by Chinese regulators in recent months.
China is investigating what it believes is anti-competitive behavior by big tech companies and how companies handle sensitive customer data.
ByteDance and TikTok are among the Chinese tech companies targeted by the Trump administration last year. This is done through a series of government orders that prohibit the sale of the app in the US App Store.
Neither of those decrees went into effect, and President Joe Biden signed an executive order in June lifting the ban. Biden has hired the Commerce Secretary to investigate allegations of ties to foreign adversaries such as China. Sensitive data may be collected from consumers in the United States.