Sensor Tower Q4 2019 Data Digest
Sensor Tower Q4 2019 Data Digest
Sensor Tower Q4 2019 Data Digest
Store Intelligence
Data Digest
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Executive Summary:
Highlights
Worldwide app downloads totaled 28.7 billion in The biggest story of Q4 2019 was the launch of
4Q19, a 4.7% year-over-year increase. 2019 full Disney+, which quickly became the top
year downloads grew 9.1% to 114.9B, including downloaded app in the U.S. It had more than 30
30.6B on the App Store and 84.3 from Google Play. million U.S. downloads in the quarter.
For the first time in more than five years, Google TikTok ended the year as the No. 2 app by global
passed Facebook to become the top mobile downloads behind WhatsApp. India was
publisher by worldwide downloads. It had 841M responsible for nearly 45% of TikTok’s first-time
first-time downloads in 4Q19, up 27.6% Y/Y. downloads in 2019.
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Table of Contents:
Topics Covered
The Q4 2019 Store Intelligence Data Digest offers analysis on the latest mobile trends:
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Store Intelligence 4
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Market Overview:
Q4 2019 Worldwide Download Growth
Worldwide App Store and Worldwide App Store Worldwide Google Play
Google Play Downloads Downloads Downloads
35B 35B 35B
+4.7%
30B 30B 30B
5B 5B 7.8B 5B
7.2B
0 0 0
Q4 2018 Q4 2019 Q4 2018 Q4 2019 Q4 2018 Q4 2019
5
Top Apps
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Overall - Worldwide
App Store Google Play
TikTok downloads reached an all-time high
WhatsApp .
in Q4 2019 with nearly 220 million installs.
TikTok .
Facebook .
This represented a 24% increase over Q3
Messenger . 2019 and 6% growth Y/Y.
Instagram .
SHAREit . WhatsApp remained on top this quarter,
Likee . leading four Facebook-owned apps in the
YouTube .
top five. WhatsApp experienced a huge
Club Factory .
growth of 39% Q/Q in 4Q19, after decreased
Snapchat .
downloads in the previous four quarters.
UC Browser .
Spotify .
Netflix .
Wish .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
YouTube Music . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
Google Pay for India . iPad, and Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
Amazon . apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report
Telegram . unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-
Helo .
party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app
versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
PicsArt .
Google .
Venmo .
Overall - Europe
App Store Google Play
Facebook once again owned four of the top
WhatsApp .
five apps in Europe. In 3Q19, FaceApp
TikTok .
Instagram .
ranked No. 5, pushing the Facebook app to
Messenger . No. 6 overall.
Facebook .
Snapchat . Shopping apps also had a strong quarter in
Wish . Europe. Wish (No. 7), AliExpress (10), and
Netflix .
Amazon (18) were among the top 20 in 4Q19,
Telegram .
with higher rankings compared to the 3Q19.
AliExpress .
YouTube Music .
Spotify .
YouTube .
Pinterest .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Likee . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
Viber Messenger . iPad, and Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
Shazam . apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report
Amazon . unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-
Google Maps .
party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app
versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
McDonald's .
Google Chrome .
0 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M 7M 8M 9M 10M
Overall - Worldwide
App Store Google Play
Call of Duty: Mobile had more than 180
Call of Duty: Mobile .
million downloads in Q4 2019 across the
Sand Balls .
Brain Out .
App Store and Google Play Store. This was
PUBG Mobile . the best quarter for a game since Pokémon
Garena Free Fire . GO’s launch in Q3 2016.
Fun Race 3D .
Ink Inc. . Mobile gaming remained competitive in Q4
Subway Surfers .
2019. No publisher had more than three
Mario Kart Tour .
games among the top 20, and only Lion
Rescue Cut .
Studios, Playrix, and Amanotes had multiple
Hunter Assassin .
Homescapes .
titles in the top 20.
Icing On The Cake .
My Talking Tom 2 .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Sniper 3D . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
Magic Tiles 3 . iPad, and Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
Gardenscapes . apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report
Candy Crush . unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-
Johnny Trigger .
party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app
versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
Tiles Hop .
Square Bird .
0 10M 20M 30M 40M 50M 60M 70M 80M 90M 100M
Aquapark.io .
0 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M 7M 8M
Overall - Europe
App Store Google Play
Call of Duty: Mobile led the way in Europe,
Call of Duty: Mobile .
with nearly 50 million downloads in Q4
Brain Out .
Sand Balls .
2019. Its download total nearly reached that
Ink Inc. . of the next two games (Brain Out from
Mario Kart Tour . Eyewind and Sand Balls from Say Games)
Rescue Cut . combined.
Brawl Stars .
Homescapes .
Brawl Stars remained popular in Europe,
Fun Race 3D .
ranking No. 7 last quarter. It was also No. 7
PUBG Mobile .
in Q3, behind Mario Kart Tour and several
Hunter Assassin .
Icing On The Cake .
hyper-casual games.
Gardenscapes .
Johnny Trigger .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Subway Surfers . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
Words of Wonders . iPad, and Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
Magic Tiles 3 . apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report
Sky Roller . unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-
Roblox .
party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app
versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
Tiles Hop .
Fortnite .
Overall - Worldwide
App Store Google Play
Google passed Facebook to become the top
Google .
global publisher in Q4 2019. This was the
Facebook .
ByteDance .
first time Google had more downloads than
Say Games . Facebook in more than five years.
AppLovin .
Voodoo . A strong quarter from TikTok propelled
Tencent . ByteDance to No. 3 in 4Q19. It had ranked
Alibaba Group .
outside the top five in Q2 and Q3 2019.
Outfit7 Limited .
Good Job Games .
Microsoft .
Activision Blizzard .
Playgendary .
Amazon .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
YY . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone, iPad,
InShot . and Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019.
Crazy Labs . Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded.
Playrix . We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not
Amanotes .
include third-party stores.
BabyBus .
Amazon .
Walmart .
BitMango .
Overall - Europe
App Store Google Play
After a quarter behind Google and Belarus-
Google .
based hyper-casual games publisher Say
Facebook .
AppLovin .
Games, Facebook returned to the No. 2
Say Games . spot in Europe. Say Games fell to No. 4,
Voodoo . behind AppLovin.
Activision Blizzard .
Microsoft . Two Russian publishers made the top 20,
Yandex .
including Yandex (No. 8) and Mail.Ru (19).
Good Job Games .
Other European countries such as France,
Crazy Labs .
Turkey, Germany, and Great Britain each had
Playgendary .
Outfit7 Limited .
one publisher among the top 20.
ByteDance .
Playrix .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Amazon . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone, iPad,
Amanotes . and Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019.
Fun Games For Free . Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded.
Samsung . We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not
Mail.Ru .
include third-party stores.
Supercell .
App Store
Q4 2018 Q4 2019
2.5B Games had solid growth on the App Store
+11.3%
at 11.3% Y/Y. Other categories experienced a
combined 6.6% growth.
2.0B
Shopping passed Utilities to become the
No. 4 category with nearly 15% growth Y/Y.
Shopping holidays in Q4 such as Black Friday
1.5B spurred the pop in growth.
2.33B
2.09B
1.0B
0
Games Photo & Video Entertainment Shopping Utilities
Google Play
Q4 2018 Q4 2019
9B +18.8%
Three of the top five categories saw installs
decline Y/Y, while categories just outside
8B the top five had strong growth. Video
Players, Shopping, and Finance downloads
7B each grew by more than 20% Y/Y.
3B
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for
2B Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. We report
-6.9%
unique installs only (one download per User). Google
-3.6% +1.2% -29.4%
preinstalled apps are excluded. Android download estimates
1B
1.47B 1.37B 1.41B do not include third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate
1.12B 1.08B 1.06B 1.08B 998M installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
0
Game Tools Communication Social Entertainment
Overall
App Store Google Play
While India’s downloads were flat Y/Y,
India growth continued in the U.S. (6% Y/Y),
Brazil (11%), and Russia (9%). Russia
U.S.
passed Indonesia to regain the No. 4 spot in
Q4 2019.
Brazil
Russia
Three of the top 10 countries had more App
Store downloads than Google Play: the
Indonesia U.S., Japan, and Great Britain. These
countries combined for 6.8% growth Y/Y,
Mexico compared to 2.8% growth among the other
countries in the top 10.
Turkey
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for
Japan
iPhone and iPad for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
apps are excluded. We report unique installs only (one
Vietnam
download per User).
Q4 Countries by Downloads 40
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
App Store
Q4 2018 Q4 2019
2.5B The gap between China and the U.S. was at
160 million, the narrowest it’s been in any
quarter since 2014. The U.S. saw strong
-0.6% growth of 12.7% Y/Y, while China installs
2.0B
+12.7% decreased slightly.
Q4 Countries by Downloads 41
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Google Play
Q4 2018 Q4 2019
5B +0.0% India’s 4.8 billion Google Play downloads
in Q4 matched the year prior. India
downloads peaked at 5.25 billion in 2Q19.
4B
Google Play downloads had a 35% CAGR in
Indonesia between 2Q14 and 2Q19.
However, Indonesia’s installs have decreased
3B
over the last two quarters.
4.80B 4.80B
+9.6%
2B
-2.0% -4.0%
+10.1% Note Regarding Download Estimates
1B Our estimates include worldwide daily download totals for
1.94B
1.78B Google Play for Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. We report
1.35B 1.33B 1.33B 1.27B
1.02B 1.12B unique installs only (one download per User). Google
preinstalled apps are excluded. Android download estimates
do not include third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate
0
installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
Q4 Countries by Downloads 42
2019 Year in
Review
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Market Overview:
2019 Worldwide Download Growth
Worldwide App Store and Worldwide App Store Worldwide Google Play
Google Play Downloads Downloads Downloads
125B +9.1% 125B 125B
+11.1%
100B 100B 100B
+11.7%
+12.9%
75B 75B 75B
114.9B
50B 105.3B 50B 50B
94.9B
+6.7% +2.7% 84.3B
66.9B 75.5B
25B 25B 25B
27.9B 29.8B 30.6B
0 0 0
2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019
44
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Top Apps
App Store Google Play
After Facebook had the top four apps in
WhatsApp .
2016 and 2017, TikTok took the No. 4 spot
TikTok .
Messenger .
ahead of Instagram in 2018. TikTok did not
Facebook . slow down in 2019, passing Messenger and
Instagram . Facebook to rank No. 2 overall.
Likee .
SHAREit . Likee (formerly Like Video) from Bigo
YouTube .
Technology ranked No. 6 with more than
Snapchat .
330 million downloads in 2019. This was
Netflix .
173% growth Y/Y, with India driving more
UC Browser .
Spotify .
than half of installs.
YouTube Music .
PicsArt .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Uber . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
Wish . iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
Amazon . apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report
Helo . unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-
Hotstar .
party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app
versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
Twitter .
Top Games
App Store Google Play
PUBG Mobile (also known as Game for
PUBG Mobile .
Peace in China) was the top mobile game in
Garena Free Fire .
Subway Surfers .
2019 by downloads, after ranking second
Fun Race 3D . in 2018. It had approximately 285 million
Color Bump 3D . installs last year.
Call of Duty: Mobile .
My Talking Tom 2 . Another battle royale game, Garena Free
Run Race 3D .
Fire, came in as the No. 2 game in 2019. It
Sand Balls .
saw 48% growth Y/Y to move up from the
Homescapes .
No. 4 spot in 2018.
Stack Ball .
Aquapark.io .
Tiles Hop .
Sniper 3D .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
Mario Kart Tour . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
Candy Crush . iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019. Apple
Ludo King . apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report
Magic Tiles 3 . unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-
Crowd City .
party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app
versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
Happy Glass .
Top Publishers
App Store Google Play
Propelled by having four of the top five
Facebook .
apps, Facebook was once again the top
Google .
ByteDance .
publisher overall in 2019. Google was No. 2
Voodoo . with nearly 2.3 billion downloads and 19%
Tencent . Y/Y growth.
Say Games .
Good Job Games . ByteDance passed Voodoo to round out the
Outfit7 Limited .
top three. TikTok was its top app with more
Alibaba Group .
than 700 million downloads.
AppLovin .
Playgendary .
Crazy Labs .
Microsoft .
YY .
Note Regarding Download Estimates
BabyBus . Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone, iPad,
Amazon . and Google Play for Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019.
Kingsoft . Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded.
InShot . We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not
Miniclip .
include third-party stores.
Amanotes .
Disney+ 51
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Amazon
Dec. 2019 Note Regarding Download Estimates
Prime Video
Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
iPad, and Google Play for Dec. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2019.
Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We
Apr.
report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include
HBO NOW third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all
2019
app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.
TikTok 56
© 2020 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved
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TikTok Revenue
Revenue Rank (Among Non-Game Apps)
$50M 151 TikTok revenue took off in 2019 to
approach $40 million in December 2019. It
TikTok was the No. 7 app (excluding games) by
ByteDance
revenue that month, ahead of apps like
$40M 121
118 Disney+, Youku, and Hulu.
113
107
51
Note Regarding Revenue Estimates
Our estimates include worldwide downloads for iPhone,
$10M 33 32 31 iPad, and Google Play for Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2019.
30 29 28
25 Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We
21 20
17 17
report gross revenue (including the cut for Apple or Google).
14
Android estimates do not include third-party stores. Figures
8 7
$0 1 represent aggregate installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook
and Facebook Lite.
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