Delete This App: Which Apps Do We Most Want to Ditch?
Between Elon Musk's Twitter takeover, a constant deluge of new streaming and gaming services hitting the market, and the era of TikTok in full force, mobile app usage has taken some unexpected turns in recent months, according to a new study(Opens in a new window) by VPNOverview.
Some familiar names—including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok—held the top spots in terms of active users, but they did not grow as fast as new platforms such as BeReal and Mastodon, which spiked in popularity. In fact, Instagram tops the list as the most popular app that users want to delete, despite being the top most-used app in 2022.
BeReal claimed the last spot in the top 20 most used apps, thanks to a 268% increase in active users in the second half of 2022, compared with a 9% increase for TikTok. In July, BeReal was the most downloaded app in the Apple's US App Store. Popular with Gen Z, the app encourages users to show their "true selves" online, in contrast to the filtered, staged images found on other platforms.
Social app Mastodon saw the biggest increase in active users of all in the past six months, even though it didn't make list of most used. After Elon Musk's controversial Twitter takeover, people sought new places to exchange ideas and promote their work. Mastodon became that place for many, boosting its active users by 4,231% while Twitter saw a decrease of 2.33%.
The Mastodon rush was short-lived, though. In November and December, the app saw a steep decline in active users (15.46%) and downloads (53.40%).
Streaming and gaming services successfully surged in downloads by launching new content. When Prime Video released Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, app downloads increased from an average of 1.6 million per month to
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