TikTok has joined the elite club of social media applications to reach 1 billion active users. According to data presented by Buyshares, TikTok is the second-fastest social media platform to the magic number of users, just behind Facebook, after reaching the milestone in just 5.1 years.
Out of all major social media platforms, TikTok accomplished the feat the second-fastest just behind Facebook Messenger, which got to 1 billion users in just 4.9 years. Arguably however, the speed of TikTok’s rise is far more impressive, as Facebook Messenger was already in operation as an extension of the Facebook website before it was released as an app. This gave Faecbook Messenger a significant head start compared to TikTok.
The next fastest after TikTok is Chinese app WeChat which took a little over 7 years to accomplish the feat. Facebook’s – now known as Meta – other apps such as its main app for Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp took 7.7 years, 8.5 years and 8.7 years respectively to reach the milestone.
Video-sharing platform, Youtube also took a little over 8 years to reach 1B users.
Robert Pascal, Tech editor at Buyshares, comments: “TikTok is the social media platform that is generating a lot of buzz in the last couple of years, particularly among the younger generations. The app’s popularity is impossible to miss as it has fully permeated mainstream pop-culture, ensuring that the 1B user mark is not the only milestone the platform will break in the near future.”
TikTok’s started life as an app called Douyin in September 2016 in Mainland China known. Rechristened TikTok for the international market. In 2019 Donald Trump tried to stop it operating in the US, but it weathered that storm by relocating its servers to the US for US clients.
