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STORE INTELLIGENCE · JONATHAN BRISKMAN · AUGUST 2019

The State of Social Video Apps in the U.S. for Q2 2019

See the performance of top social video apps in the U.S. for Q2 2019 by downloads, according to Sensor Tower data.

Top Social Video Apps in the U.S. for Q2 2019 Banner Image

The market for social video apps in the United States remained competitive in Q2 2019, with Snapchat and Instagram ranking as the No. 2 and 3 non-game apps, respectively, by downloads for the quarter, according to Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform. In this excerpt from our latest quarterly Data Digest, we look at the performance of these apps, as well as ByteDance’s TikTok, between Q1 2017 and last quarter.

Social Video Apps Top U.S. Growth Yet Again

Social video apps were present among the top 10 apps by quarter-over-quarter download growth in the U.S. during the past three quarters. Only HBO NOW, boosted by the final season of Game of Thrones, had higher growth than Snapchat in 2Q19. Neither TikTok nor Instagram were able to sustain their growth into the next quarter. Time will tell if Snapchat can build off the momentum of a strong quarter into Q3 2019.

Top Social Video Apps of the Top Growing Apps in the U.S.

Downloads of the Top U.S. Social Video Apps Over Time

In 2Q19, Snapchat experienced year-over-year growth for the first time since 1Q17. Downloads grew 18 percent Y/Y to nearly 10 million in the quarter, its best quarter since 2017. U.S. TikTok downloads decreased 48 percent Q/Q in 2Q19 and it fell to No. 10 among non-games. It had been the No. 2 app by U.S. downloads behind Messenger in Q4 2018 and Q1 2019.

Top Social Video Apps in the U.S. by Downloads for Q2 2019

Lenses and Snap Kit Drive Snapchat’s Enormous Growth

In early May, Snapchat benefitted from the popularity of Yolo, an anonymous Q&A app integrated with Snapchat, as well as a viral reaction to its new gender swap and de-aging filters. Yolo was built using Snap Kit to allow users to receive anonymous responses in Snapchat. In the future, Snapchat could benefit from other apps integrating features with its app.

Snapchat Downloads in the U.S. for Q2 2019 Chart

Interested in additional Q2 2019 insights? Download a free copy of our Q2 2019 Data Digest Report:

Store Intelligence users can see revenue and download estimates for the above publishers in addition to historical performance metrics on the Sensor Tower platform. Our estimates include worldwide downloads for the App Store and Google Play between Jan. 1, 2017 and June 30, 2019. Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.


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Jonathan Briskman

Written by: Jonathan Briskman, Senior Mobile Insights Analyst

Date: August 2019