Sunil GillTikTok was the most downloaded app in the world in 2025, and the one people spent the most time and money in, according to Sensor Tower. It also publishes almost no user figures of its own. The exceptions are the ones it is made to publish: 189 million monthly users in the European Union, audited under EU law, and "more than 170 million" Americans, the number it gave when its US business was sold into a new joint venture in January 2026.
This report separates what TikTok has stated, what regulators and surveys have measured, and what advertising tools estimate. It also covers the ownership change, because for the first time the US app and the rest of TikTok are different companies.
TikTok statistics: the key figures
- 189 million average monthly active users in the EU for January to June 2026, up from 134 million in the first half of 2023 (TikTok's Digital Services Act reports).
- More than 170 million users in the United States (TikTok, January 2026).
- 37% of US adults use TikTok, up from 21% in 2021; 63% of 18 to 29 year olds use it and about half of them daily (Pew Research Center, 2025).
- Number one app worldwide in 2025 by downloads, in-app purchase revenue and time spent (Sensor Tower).
- Fourth most downloaded free iPhone app in the US in 2025, behind ChatGPT, Threads and Google (Apple).
- An advertising audience of more than 2 billion adults, up over 20% in a year (DataReportal, April 2026).
- Since January 22, 2026, TikTok's US operations belong to TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, 80.1% owned by American and other investors and 19.9% by ByteDance.
How many people use TikTok
TikTok has never published a regular global user count. Its last widely quoted figure, "more than 1 billion" monthly users, dates from September 2021, and it still describes its audience as "over a billion people" in partnership announcements. Everything more precise comes from one of three places.
The audited figure: the EU
The EU's Digital Services Act requires large platforms to publish their average monthly active users in the EU every six months, and the figures are checked. TikTok's are the only user numbers it publishes anywhere that are both regular and verified.
View as table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| H1 2023 | 134M |
| H2 2023 | 142M |
| H1 2024 | 149M |
| H2 2024 | 158M |
| H1 2025 | 170M |
| H2 2025 | 178M |
| H1 2026 | 189M |
Source: TikTok DSA transparency reports, via socialmediatransparency.org
The EU audience has grown 41% in three years, from 134 million to 189 million, at a steady 6% or so every six months.
The company's figure: the US
TikTok told a US court in 2024 that it had more than 170 million American users, and repeated "more than 170 million" when the joint venture was announced in January 2026. That is roughly half the US population, and it is a monthly figure on the company's own definition, which has not been audited.
The survey figure: Pew
Pew Research Center's 2025 survey of 5,022 US adults found 37% using TikTok, up from 21% in 2021 and the fastest rise of any platform Pew tracks. A quarter of adults use it daily. By age, 63% of 18 to 29 year olds use it, 44% of 30 to 49s, 30% of 50 to 64s and 12% of those 65 and over, and roughly half of the youngest group opens it every day. Women are more likely than men to use it.
The advertising estimate
DataReportal reads TikTok's own ad tools, which report the audience advertisers can reach. In April 2026 that was more than 2 billion adults aged 18 and over, up more than 8% in three months and more than 20% in a year. Ad reach is not the same as users: it excludes under-18s, who are a large share of TikTok's audience, and it depends on how the tool counts. GWI's survey for the same report finds 36% of internet users aged 16 and over using TikTok monthly, sixth among all platforms.
TikTok in the app stores
Sensor Tower's State of Mobile 2026 names TikTok the top app of 2025 on all three measures it tracks: downloads, in-app purchase revenue (mostly virtual gifts for creators) and total time spent. It was also the most downloaded social app, ahead of a year in which ChatGPT grew 148% to take second place overall.
Apple's official year-end list for the US App Store put TikTok fourth among free iPhone apps in 2025, behind ChatGPT, Threads and Google, and sixth on iPad. Seven years after its US launch, it is still being downloaded at the rate of a new app.
Who owns TikTok
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a private company founded in Beijing in 2012, which also runs Douyin, the separate Chinese version of the app. ByteDance does not publish financial results, and TikTok's revenue is not disclosed.
The United States is now different. Under a 2024 law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok's US operations or face a ban, the company announced TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC on January 22, 2026. American and other investors hold 80.1% and ByteDance 19.9%, with Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi's MGX each taking 15% of the new entity, in a deal that valued the US business at $14 billion. Oracle also handles US user data. The joint venture runs the app for its 170 million American users; TikTok elsewhere remains with ByteDance.
What the numbers mean for app marketers
- TikTok is the one platform still growing on every measure: EU users up 6% every six months, US adult use up 16 points in four years, downloads first worldwide.
- Its audience is the youngest of any large platform, and the daily habit is strongest there: half of American adults under 30 open it every day. For an app aimed at them, it is the primary channel, not a secondary one.
- Reach for over-50s is thin, 30% and 12% of the two older groups, so it does not replace Facebook or YouTube for that audience.
- Quote the EU and Pew numbers in a pitch, not "1.5 billion users". The first two can be defended; the global figure cannot.
- The US joint venture changes who you deal with for ads and data in the US, and the ad product is diverging from the rest of the world. Expect US-specific features and policies.
Company-reported figures for the other platforms are in the social media statistics report, and TikTok's place in the download charts in the most popular apps report.
How these figures are counted
EU figures are TikTok's average monthly active recipients published under Article 24(2) of the Digital Services Act for each six-month period, compiled by socialmediatransparency.org. The US figure is TikTok's own statement and has not been independently verified. Pew's figures come from a probability-based survey of US adults conducted February to June 2025. Sensor Tower's rankings are modelled estimates across iOS and Google Play for calendar 2025. Apple's ranking is its official US App Store list for 2025. DataReportal's ad reach figure is read from TikTok's advertising tools and counts users aged 18 and over that advertisers can target.
FAQs
How many users does TikTok have?
TikTok does not publish a current global figure; it last said "more than 1 billion" in 2021. Its audited EU audience is 189 million monthly users (first half of 2026), it states more than 170 million US users, and its advertising tools report a reachable audience of over 2 billion adults.
How many Americans use TikTok?
More than 170 million, according to TikTok. Pew Research Center's 2025 survey finds 37% of US adults use it, including 63% of 18 to 29 year olds, and 24% of all adults use it daily.
Who owns TikTok now?
ByteDance owns TikTok everywhere except the United States. Since January 22, 2026, the US business has been run by TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which is 80.1% owned by American and other investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, and 19.9% by ByteDance.
Was TikTok the most downloaded app in 2025?
Worldwide, yes, according to Sensor Tower, which also ranks it first for consumer spending and time spent. On the US iPhone it was fourth, behind ChatGPT, Threads and Google, according to Apple.
How much money does TikTok make?
Neither TikTok nor ByteDance discloses it. ByteDance is private and reports no results. Revenue figures in circulation are estimates from analysts and press reports.
Is TikTok growing or declining?
Growing, by the figures that can be checked. Its audited EU audience has risen about 6% every six months, from 134 million in early 2023 to 189 million in the first half of 2026, and the share of US adults using it went from 21% in 2021 to 37% in 2025, per Pew. Sensor Tower ranked it the most downloaded app in the world in 2025.
Sources
- TikTok DSA transparency reports, compiled by socialmediatransparency.org
- TikTok USDS Joint Venture announcement, January 22, 2026, as reported by TechCrunch
- Pew Research Center: Americans' Social Media Use 2025
- Sensor Tower: State of Mobile 2026 and its rankings as reported by 9to5Mac
- Apple's 2025 US App Store rankings as reported by 9to5Mac
- DataReportal: Digital 2026 mid-year update, April 2026
All figures were checked against the sources above on October 6, 2026.