Sharing, shopping, snapping: What 2024's most-downloaded apps say about Americans

In an era where the average American spends a considerable amount of their waking hours staring at a smartphone screen, app choices have become a mirror reflecting evolving social habits, consumer behaviors, and digital dependencies.

An estimated 98% of American adults own mobile phones, according to Pew Research surveys conducted in 2024, with 91% using smartphones as their digital gateway to an ever-expanding world of applications that shape how people live, work, and connect. Mobile apps have become the primary way people experience both digital and physical worlds. Apps determine how people navigate cities, choose restaurants, find romance and friendship, and manage money.

This dramatic shift stands in stark contrast to mobile technology's simpler beginnings—when cell phones were simply used to make phone calls and send SMS texts. That changed with Nokia's Snake game, which represented the pinnacle of mobile entertainment less than three decades ago. That simple pixelated serpent paved the way for what would become a multibillion-dollar mobile gaming industry.

When developers created games for smartphones, beginning with Angry Birds, which catapulted onto screens in 2009, it created the first global app phenomenon. Easy touch-screen tactics suddenly connected people across cultures and generations. Social gaming phenomena like Words with Friends and Candy Crush Saga followed, transforming casual gaming into a shared social experience that connected friends and strangers alike.

The shift from basic mobile games to today's complex social platforms reflects a deeper transformation in how people connect, share, and express themselves digitally. These apps don't just occupy time; they actively shape behavior and expectations. As of 2024, the average consumer spends over two hours a day on social platforms, according to consumer research firm GWI, which surveys nearly a million internet users each year.

Today, the instant gratification of TikTok's algorithm and social shopping platform has blurred the lines between entertainment and commerce: Every scroll could lead to a purchase. With the recent integration of artificial intelligence into smartphones, the normalization of AI-assisted tasks is further changing phone usage—and tomorrow's most popular applications.

Spokeo examined data compiled by Sensor Tower, a market research firm, to find the top 10 most downloaded apps in the U.S. across iOS and Google Play in the second quarter of 2024, the latest data available. Examining app trends allows for the observation of real-time changes in American society, culture, and consciousness.

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#10. Facebook

With over 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook remains the world's largest social network, according to a Kepsios/Statista report released in April 2024. It evolved from a platform for personal status updates to a hub for community engagement and commerce. A 2021 study from NYU's The Governance Lab, in partnership with Facebook, reported that its Groups feature connected 1.8 billion monthly users through interest-based communities, local organizations, and hobby circles.

Facebook has attempted to reinvent itself this year with new features focused on localization and personalization as it faces declining engagement among younger users.

Meta's flagship app also has renewed purpose through its Marketplace, which has become America's digital yard sale, with more than 1 billion monthly users as of April.

#9. ChatGPT

OpenAI's ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot launched on mobile devices in November 2022. The app's ability to assist with a vast array of tasks, including writing, coding, and educational support, has made AI accessibility mainstream in unprecedented ways. As of August 2024, ChatGPT has more than 200 million weekly active users, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

In the past year, the ChatGPT mobile app has introduced several major features, including the advanced GPT-4o model for faster performance and multimodal capabilities, a voice mode, and the ability to create custom versions of ChatGPT tailored to specific tasks.

ChatGPT's rapid growth highlights that AI is transforming Americans' use and dependence on their smartphones as digital assistants. With the launch of Apple Intelligence, which also supports ChatGPT, AI is becoming increasingly integrated into daily smartphone interactions.

#8. Telegram

Telegram is a cloud-based messaging app best known for its enhanced privacy and security. The app features include end-to-end encryption for secret chats, self-destructing messages, and a wide array of bots for various functions.

Its ability to handle large group conversations with up to 200,000 members and broadcast content via Channels has made it popular among users seeking alternatives to mainstream social media, particularly in countries with strict censorship.

Telegram has surged in popularity, reaching 950 million monthly users in July. Its growth likely reflects users' increasing concerns about data security and a desire for more control over digital communications.

However, this year, Telegram's founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on charges of alleged criminal activities facilitated through his messaging platform, sparking a debate about platform responsibility and free speech. The case has raised concerns among tech executives and free speech advocates, who argue it sets a dangerous precedent for holding platform owners accountable for user-generated content.

#7. CapCut

CapCut is a video-editing app owned by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company. It's known for its user-friendly interface and variety of templates, music, filters, and other assets designed for short-form videos, making it a particularly suitable tool for content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

The video editing app's massive popularity in 2024, reaching 300 million monthly active users as of July 2024, underscores the growing importance of video content creation in everyday social media use, allowing anyone to create professional-looking content with minimal effort.

In late 2023, YouTube launched its standalone mobile app, Create, to compete with CapCut as part of its strategy to challenge TikTok with the introduction of its Shorts feature.

#6. Threads

Threads is Meta's text-based social media platform, launched in July 2023. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg positioned Threads as a "friendly" alternative to X, formerly Twitter, focusing on conversations rather than news.

Built as an extension of Instagram, it allows users to post short-form text updates, images, and videos. The app gained record-breaking momentum at its July 2023 launch, with over 30 million sign-ups on day one.

While user engagement took a nosedive following its successful launch, Threads hit 200 million active users in August 2024, according to the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri. The explosive adoption of Threads during X's controversial changes reflects Americans' evolving relationship with mobile social media, showing how quickly users will migrate to new platforms that promise better digital discourse.

#5. Shein

Shein is a Chinese fast-fashion e-commerce giant known for its ultra-low prices and massive catalog of clothing. Launched in 2008, it became a global phenomenon through its mobile-first approach and social media marketing, particularly on TikTok.

The company uses AI algorithms to measure customer preferences, predict trends, and rapidly produce new styles, sometimes releasing thousands of new items daily.

The rise of Shein reflects Americans' demand for ultra-fast, affordable fashion, driven by a desire for variety and accessibility at low prices. This trend underscores a shift toward impulsive consumer habits and a prioritization of cost and convenience over sustainability.

While popular among Gen Z and millennial shoppers for its affordability, Shein and other fast-fashion retailers have faced criticism over the environmental impact, working conditions, and product quality.

#4. WhatsApp Messenger

WhatsApp Messenger is a free, encrypted messaging service that allows users to send text messages, voice messages, images, videos, and make voice or video calls over the internet.

Hitting over 2 billion users globally back in 2020, it is by far the most popular mobile messaging app in the world, beating out second-place WeChat by around 700 million users, according to Kepios/Statista data.

The Meta-owned app's popularity in the U.S. has grown as more users seek free, secure, and convenient ways to communicate domestically and internationally. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reported that the platform reached 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. in July.

Considering that toward the end of 2023, 60% of users were Gen Z or millennials, it is poised to grow with younger generations. Its privacy features and group chat options make it particularly attractive.

#3. Instagram

Instagram, a social network owned by Meta, has evolved into a comprehensive social media powerhouse. The platform has transformed far beyond its origins as a photo-sharing app into a digital marketplace where users seamlessly switch between watching Reels, shopping from their favorite brands, and keeping up with friends' ephemeral Stories.

Its frequent updates to its direct messaging feature and the ability for users to comment on friends' Stories help Instagram maintain a sense of social connection, even as the app has increasingly diversified into commercial and influencer-driven content.

This year, Instagram launched teen accounts that will automatically be set to private, enhancing safety and parental oversight for users under 18 amid growing concerns about the platform's impact on youth mental health.

#2. TikTok

TikTok is a social media app focused on short-form video content, where users can create and share clips from seconds to 60 minutes long, often set to music or using various effects.

The platform's signature "For You" algorithm has made it the go-to entertainment source for Gen Z, who increasingly use it as their primary search engine instead of Google, in part because of short-form videos to share information. A Her Campus Media survey conducted in August 2023 found that more than half of Gen Z women preferred using TikTok for search than Google.

Known for its influence on pop culture, TikTok has popularized trends and challenges across music, fashion, and comedy, drawing a wide audience and becoming a central platform for both user-generated content and influencer-driven media.

Despite potential regulatory challenges in the U.S., TikTok has amassed around 170 million American users—about half the U.S. population—and has massive influence spanning news consumption, political discourse, cultural trends, and more.

#1. Temu

Temu is a fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platform that offers a vast array of products at ultra-low prices, from clothing to electronics to home goods.

Despite only launching in the U.S. in September 2022, Temu has over 50 million monthly active users in the country as of the first quarter of 2024. The platform's aggressive marketing strategy, including high-profile Super Bowl advertisements, has quickly made it a household name among bargain-hunting Americans.

Competitors have taken note of its success, with Amazon reportedly planning to launch a discount marketplace specifically to compete with Temu and Shein, highlighting the growing influence of digital platforms rapidly reshaping American shopping habits.

Story editing by Alizah Salario. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.