That means Instagram surpassed TikTok in new app downloads last year. Downloads of TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, rose just 4% to 733 million over the same period.
Meta-owned platform's growth into short-form video is bearing fruit as TikTok's previous boom begins to fade.
Illustration: FT
Statistics show that Meta's photo-sharing platform is succeeding in targeting new users, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg identifying TikTok's growth as one of the biggest threats to his social media empire.
In 2020, Instagram introduced “reels,” a feature that allows users to share short clips, replicating TikTok’s viral video features that have captivated millions of GenZ consumers.
“Instagram has outperformed TikTok over the past few years, thanks to the popularity of its short-form video feature along with traditional social media features and functionality,” said Abraham Yousef, senior director of insights at Sensor Tower.
There are also signs that TikTok's growth is starting to slow for the first time since it launched in 2016.
Instagram's monthly active users reached 1.47 billion, up 13 million in the final quarter of 2023, according to Sensor Tower. TikTok's active users reached 1.12 billion, down 12 million in the final three months of last year.
However, TikTok continues to get better engagement from its more than 1 billion active users worldwide . Users spent an average of 95 minutes on TikTok in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to 62 minutes on Instagram, 30 minutes on X, and 19 minutes on Snapchat.
Mark Shmulik, an analyst at Bernstein, said Instagram has successfully retained existing users on its app through its push into short-form videos, meaning that for “the next group of potential TikTok users, there is no incentive to switch.”
Influencers are also increasingly drawn to Instagram, he added. For these content creators, Shmulik said TikTok is a better place to achieve overnight viral success, while its US rival is a better platform to monetize a follower base.
While TikTok has grown rapidly thanks to its algorithm serving users clips that are tailored to their interests with relevant content, Meta last year invested in artificial intelligence to strengthen its recommendation system.
Mai Van (according to FT)
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