According to an App Annie report, TikToks users spend more time per month viewing content than YouTube users. According to App Annie, the US' ByteDances app overtook YouTube in August 2013. Its users now watch more content than YouTube users. As of June 2021, its users had viewed over 24 hours worth of content per month. This compares with Google's 22 hours and 40 minute video platform. The UK has a starker contrast: TikTok took over YouTube in May 2013 and its users now watch 26 hours of content per month, compared with 16 on YouTube.
These figures are only for viewers on Android phones and may not reflect the overall number of users. These figures show TikTok's rapid rise in popularity over a short time. They are also impressive due to the 3 minute limit for most videos, as opposed to the 10 minute format that many YouTubers prefer. In the midst of chaotic negotiations, TikTok was constantly under threat that it would be banned from the US for much of 2020. (Biden officially revoked Trump's executive orders earlier in the year).
YouTube still leads in time spent, no doubt due to its two billion users, compared with TikTok's approximately 700 million. BBC News reports. YouTube, which excludes iOS users and users who use the app renamed Douyin (in China), is still the number one Social and Entertainment Apps for Android. TikTok is fifth behind three Facebook apps, WhatsApp and Instagram. According to App Annies data, users spend more money on YouTube than TikTok worldwide, for both iOS and Android (excluding Android users in China).
App Annie claims that TikTok's success was due to its short-video, authentic content, and live streaming. YouTube launched its own YouTube Shorts to try and imitate TikTok's short-form video format.
