AppFigures: Facebook app downloads drop 30% due to TikTok growth and privacy issues

According to foreign media reports, Facebook has had a hard time convincing users to enable tracking features in its apps, but it seems that this is not the only reason affecting the company. As shown by app analytics company AppFigures, Facebook's app downloads have dropped by 30% on both the App Store and Google Play compared to last year.

According to the analysis, Facebook's mobile app recorded an average of 15 million downloads per week in May 2020. However, the app now has no more than 11 million downloads on iOS and Android combined. Interestingly, the first major drop in downloads occurred in June 2020, just after Apple announced several new privacy features for iOS 14.

In May 2020, downloads of Facebook's flagship and Lite apps averaged around 15 million per week. That's across the App Store and Google Play, according to our estimates. By June, that number had fallen to 13 million. By April 2021, it was hovering just under 11 million.

AppFigures noted that Facebook has seen some download declines before, but this is the first time in a long time that the numbers have dropped significantly and lasted for more than a year. Although the company did not disclose the reason, the analysis company believes that this may be mainly related to the growth of TikTok.

The company also revealed that TikTok remains the most downloaded app in the App Store and Google Play, with a total of 52 million downloads in April 2021. On the iOS App Store alone, Facebook had 9.9 million downloads last month, while TikTok received 15.9 million downloads.

Privacy concerns may also be causing some users to stay away from Facebook. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company has taken a stand against some of the changes imposed by Apple since the introduction of several new privacy features in iOS 14. This includes the app tracking transparency option and privacy labels for the App Store.

Recently, Facebook has been prompting users to enable app tracking if they want both Facebook and Instagram to remain “free.” The company has also been forcing users to accept a new WhatsApp privacy policy; otherwise, they’ll lose app functionality.

From cnbeta