Telegram was the most widely downloaded non-gaming application software in the world in January 2021, with 24 per cent of the total installs coming from India, according to the latest data from Sensor Tower. The messaging software was downloaded 63 million times last month and was downloaded 3.8 times in January 2020. The unexpected rise in downloads may be due to WhatsApp’s privacy policy uproar, which caused anger among its users and forced them to turn to Telegram. Although TikTok came in near seconds followed by Signal and Facebook, WhatsApp moved to fifth from its previous third position in January.
In its new blog post titled ‘Best Apps Worldwide for January 2021 by Downloads,’ Sensor Tower announced that Telegram prevailed over TikTok and Signal to become the world’s most downloaded app in January of this year. Although the highest installs came from India at 24 per cent, Indonesia came second with 10 per cent of the overall downloads.
TikTok was a close second with 62 million downloads, while China accounted for 17 per cent of downloads, led by the US 10 per cent. TikTok is now blocked in India following a government decision last year to block a number of Chinese applications.
TikTok was the most downloaded app in December 2020, according to Sensor Tower, with Telegram not even in the top five. The privacy policy dispute surrounding WhatsApp undoubtedly forced users to turn to Telegram in January when WhatsApp switched from third place in December 2020 to fifth in January 2021. Signal and Facebook took third and fourth positions in January 2021, according to Sensor Tower.
Instagram took sixth place in the list of most downloaded non-gaming apps in January 2021, according to the survey, followed by Zoom, MX Taka Tak, Snapchat, and Messenger. Sensor Tower maintains that its forecasts include downloads for both the App Store and the Google Play store worldwide between January 1, 2021, and January 31, 2021.
