The most downloaded Social apps in 2025

Meta’s Instagram was the most downloaded Social app in 2025, accumulating 721.5M downloads, according to AppTweak’s Market Intelligence data. This performance underscores the continued dominance of established platforms, even as the broader market shows signs of shifting priorities. While legacy apps command massive volume, their growth has started to slow, pointing to a mature landscape where user acquisition is becoming more challenging.

The overall Social app market reflects this dynamic, reporting a slight year-over-year download decline of -1.2% last year, while simultaneously achieving a significant annual revenue growth of 17.2%. This contrast suggests a strategic pivot across the category from pure user acquisition to deeper monetization of existing audiences.

Key takeaways

• A small number of publishers dominate Social app downloads. Meta’s portfolio (Instagram, Facebook, Threads) accounted for 34.1% of global Social app downloads last year. This shows a highly consolidated market, where a single parent company controls a large share of user acquisition at scale.
• Download growth is declining for most legacy Social apps. Major platforms are losing momentum. Facebook (-21.8%), Threads (-25.4%), and WhatsApp (-29.0%) all reported sharp year-over-year download declines, confirming that new user acquisition is slowing in mature markets.
• High growth still exists in specific formats and app markets. Despite overall saturation, TikTok Lite – Vídeo&Free Drama grew +76.5% YoY, proving that lightweight apps designed for emerging markets remain a key growth driver in the Social app category.
• Social usage is moving away from public feeds toward smaller, intent-driven spaces. Group chats, private communities, and semi-closed environments are increasingly central to engagement, reshaping how users interact with Social apps.
• Creation is becoming faster and more reactive. Low-effort formats—replies, reactions, remixes, and short-form responses—are replacing polished, permanent posts, pushing apps to reduce friction and embed creation directly into consumption flows.

About the data set

This data was derived from AppTweak’s Market Intelligence. The dataset covers January 2025 to December 2025 and reflects worldwide performance across both the App Store & Google Play. The ranking is created by combining each app’s estimated downloads from both stores and ordering them from highest to lowest.

• Data source: AppTweak Market Intelligence
• Coverage: App Store and Google Play
• Metrics: App downloads and annual app revenue (USD)
• Time period: January 2025 – December 2025
• Category: Social, defined by AppTweak’s AppDNA taxonomy
• Geography: Global
• Last updated: January 2026

Category definition of Social apps (AppTweak AppDNA taxonomy):

AppTweak defines the Social category as apps that connect people by means of text, voice, photo, or video, as well as apps that contribute to community development. This includes interpersonal connections, messaging, video communication, photo & video sharing, dating, blogs, and special interest communities.

Segment definitions:

• Social networks & communities: Apps that allow users to meet and chat with people from different communities and share content.
• Messenger & calling: Apps to send and receive calls and texts, block spam, send encrypted messages, or obtain a second phone number.
• Dating: Apps geared towards dating and meeting new people.
• Meet & chat: Apps to meet new friends, chat with them, go live, and play games together.

Feel free to dig into your app category’s download and revenue estimates now in AppTweak’s Market Intelligence.

What are the top 10 most downloaded Social apps of 2025?

The following ranking showcases the leading Social apps by global downloads. This table lists the top 10 Social apps ordered by total downloads, including app name, publisher, HQ, downloads, and year-over-year growth.

Source: AppTweak Market Intelligence | App Store & Google Play | January 2025 – December 2025 | Global.

Notable apps at a glance

• Instagram – Rank #1, 721.5M downloads, social networks & communities
• TikTok – Videos, Shop & LIVE – Rank #2, 495.0M downloads, social networks & communities
• Facebook – Rank #3, 419.4M downloads, social networks & communities
• TikTok Lite – Vídeo&Free Drama – Rank #4, 414.1M downloads, social networks & communities
• Threads – Rank #5, 380.7M downloads, social networks & communities
• Telegram – Rank #8, 74.0M downloads, messenger & calling

3 key learnings from the top 10 Social apps

A closer look at the app download data for the top 10 Social apps reveals several important patterns for marketers and product teams. These learnings highlight the dynamics of a mature market where growth and volume are increasingly disconnected.

1. Legacy platforms drive volume but face declining growth

The top of the app download charts is dominated by established social media giants, but their user acquisition momentum is slowing. Instagram leads with 721.5M app downloads, followed by TikTok – Videos, Shop & LIVE (495.0M) and Facebook (419.4M). However, all three posted negative year-over-year download growth at -14.7%, -6.1%, and -21.8%, respectively. This pattern suggests that while these platforms maintain a massive user base, the market for new installs is becoming saturated, forcing a greater focus on engagement and monetization of existing users.

2. The “Lite” app strategy shows mixed but powerful results

Lightweight versions of major apps, designed for markets with limited connectivity or lower-spec devices, play a significant role in the top 10, but their performance is not uniform. TikTok Lite – Vídeo&Free Drama was a standout performer, securing the #4 spot with 414.1M app downloads and a remarkable +76.5% growth rate. In contrast, Meta’s lightweight apps, Instagram Lite and Facebook Lite, saw their downloads decline by -17.6% and -27.0%, respectively. This divergence suggests that TikTok’s “Lite” strategy is effectively capturing new growth audiences, while Meta’s equivalents are losing ground.

3. High app download volume is no guarantee of growth

Several apps in the top 10 demonstrate that a large download footprint does not automatically translate to continued growth. Threads, for example, ranked #5 with 380.7M downloads but experienced a -25.4% decline in year-over-year growth. Similarly, messaging giant WhatsApp Messenger saw its downloads fall by -29.0%. This trend reinforces the idea that for many established Social apps, the primary challenge has shifted from initial acquisition to retaining users and sustaining growth in a highly competitive environment.

Key facts about the top 10 Social apps

• Publishers headquartered in the United States and Singapore are responsible for the vast majority of downloads in the top 10, demonstrating a geographic concentration of market power in these two countries.
• Portfolio strategies are critical, with Meta (Instagram, Meta Platforms, Inc.) and TikTok Pte. Ltd. holding seven of the top 10 positions combined through their flagship and “Lite” app offerings.
• Despite high app download volumes, a clear trend of market maturation is visible, with seven of the top 10 apps reporting negative year-over-year download growth.
• The top-ranking apps show a strategic split between pure user acquisition and monetization. For example, Threads accumulated 380.7M downloads with no revenue, while TikTok generated $1.8B in revenue from its user base.

Social app market trends shaping 2025

The data reflects a Social app category undergoing significant transformation, driven by shifts in user behavior, technology, and business models. Here are the key trends shaping the market.

Social interaction is shifting from public feeds to smaller, intent-driven spaces

Across leading social apps, user activity is increasingly centered around private or semi-private environments rather than open broadcast feeds. Group chats, close-friends spaces, invite-only communities, and ephemeral sharing formats are more prominent entry points than public posting. Users appear to favor contexts where they can control audience, tone, and visibility, reducing the pressure associated with public performance.

This shift is visible in how apps foreground messaging, groups, and shared spaces in their navigation and onboarding flows. Discovery still exists, but it is often secondary to maintaining lightweight, ongoing interactions within trusted circles.

Content creation is becoming lighter, faster, and more reactive

Social apps are placing less emphasis on polished, permanent posts and more on quick, low-effort interactions. Short-form replies, reactions, remixes, voice notes, and visual annotations are increasingly embedded directly into content consumption flows. Creation is less about publishing and more about responding.

This behavior reflects user expectations for immediacy and reduced friction. Apps are adapting by minimizing creation steps, offering contextual creation tools, and allowing content to evolve through interaction rather than stand alone as a finished artifact.

Algorithms are being balanced with user-controlled curation

While algorithmic feeds remain central, many social apps now expose clearer controls that let users shape what they see. Chronological views, topic-based filters, follow lists, and interest toggles are more visible than before. This suggests a response to user fatigue with opaque ranking systems and irrelevant content.

Rather than removing algorithms, apps are reframing them as optional or adjustable layers. The product behavior signals an effort to rebuild trust by giving users more predictable and explainable content experiences.

Monetization is moving closer to creators and communities

Business models within social apps are increasingly tied to direct value exchange between users rather than broad advertising exposure alone. Tips, subscriptions, paid access to communities, and gated content features are more commonly integrated into core product flows.

These mechanisms are designed to feel native to social interaction rather than external transactions. The emphasis is on supporting sustained participation and identity within the app, rather than driving one-off conversions or external redirects.

Social features are blending with utility and identity functions

Social apps are expanding beyond communication into areas like planning, coordination, and self-expression through persistent profiles and shared artifacts. Features such as collaborative lists, shared media libraries, status indicators, and ongoing activity logs suggest that social interaction is becoming more embedded in everyday tasks.

This evolution reflects user expectations that social apps support continuity and presence, not just moments of interaction. The app experience increasingly acts as a social layer over daily life rather than a destination for passive scrolling.

Key facts about social apps app market trends in 2025

• User activity is increasingly concentrated in private, small-group, or semi-closed interaction spaces rather than public feeds.
  
• Content creation favors low-effort, reactive formats that are tightly coupled with consumption.
• Apps are making content control more explicit through visible curation and feed management options.
• Monetization features are integrated into social interaction, especially around creators and communities.

Conclusion

The Social app market in 2025 is a landscape of contrasts. While legacy players like Instagram and Facebook continue to command the highest app download volumes, their growth has stalled, reflecting a mature market. The category’s overall downloads saw a slight decline of -1.2%, but revenue grew by a strong 17.2%, signaling a clear shift toward monetization.

Growth is now found in the margins, with apps like TikTok Lite surging +76.5% by targeting emerging markets. The dominance of portfolios from Meta and TikTok, which together account for 34.1% of app downloads, underscores the power of consolidation. For marketers and developers, success now depends on navigating this complex environment by focusing on efficient monetization, leveraging new formats for growth, and understanding the disconnect between sheer volume and sustainable momentum.

For deeper insights into these trends and to benchmark your own app’s performance, explore AppTweak’s Market Intelligence platform. You can start analyzing the data today with a Free Starter plan.

FAQs

Below we answer the top questions about the most downloaded Social apps.

Which Social app had the most downloads in 2025?

The Social app with the most downloads in 2025 was Instagram, which accumulated 721.5M downloads globally, according to data from AppTweak’s Market Intelligence.

What is the download growth of the Social apps market?

The overall Social apps market reported a monthly relative app download growth of -1.2% last year, indicating a slight contraction in new user acquisition across the category.

Which publisher dominates the Social apps category by downloads?

The Social apps category is dominated by Meta’s publishers (Instagram and Meta Platforms, Inc.), which had a combined app download share of 34.1% last year across their portfolio of apps.

Which Social app in the top 10 showed the highest download growth?

The Social app with the highest download growth in the top 10 was TikTok Lite – Vídeo&Free Drama, which grew by 76.5% year-over-year, reaching 414.1M app downloads.

Are Social app downloads growing in 2025?

No, downloads for most top Social apps are not growing. Seven of the top 10, including Facebook (-21.8%), Threads (-25.4%), and WhatsApp Messenger (-29.0%), reported negative year-over-year app download growth.

How are different Social apps approaching monetization?

Social apps show divergent monetization strategies. For instance, TikTok generated $1.77B in revenue, while Threads accumulated 380.7M downloads with $0 in reported revenue, prioritizing user base growth over immediate monetization.

Are Social apps still worth launching in 2026?

Yes, but only in focused segments, not as broad social networks. AppTweak’s Market Intelligence data shows that while the Social app category is mature, growth has not disappeared, it has shifted. Overall Social app downloads declined slightly, but Category revenue grew strongly. Launching an app still makes sense when targeting emerging or underserved markets, focussing on a specific use case or community, adopting a “Lite” product strategy, leveraging discovery-first needs, or prioritizing monetization easily.