ChatGPT, Temu, Uber, and Netflix top most downloaded apps by global smartphone users in 2025

• OpenAI’s ChatGPT topped the overall most downloaded app by global smartphone users in 2025, followed by TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger.
• More than 60% of total time spent across mobile apps in 2025 occurred within social media and messaging apps.
• Digital Wallets & P2P Payments app edges Cryptocurrency apps to dominate the top 10 most downloaded Finance apps in 2025.
• Retail apps saw a decline in downloads after Temu and SHEIN suffered market shocks due to U.S. tariffs.
• AI apps witnessed a sharp rise in time spent on their platforms, witnessing a +240% surge to 48.1 billion hours.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, e-hailing Uber, e-commerce Temu, and video streaming platform Netflix have topped the list of most downloaded apps on smartphones by global internet users in mobile in 2o25.  This was revealed in a ‘State of Mobile 2026’ report by Sensor Tower, a leading source of mobile app insights. 

The yearly report covers the top apps downloaded on the Google Play Store and Apple Store by global smartphone users. The key aspects include Finance, Retail, Video Streaming, Food & Drinks, Social Media, AI, Gaming, Sports, and Travel & E-hailing.

In terms of overall app downloads across all categories, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most downloaded app by global smartphone users in 2025. ByteDance’s TikTok occupied the second spot, showcasing the continued growth of the short-form video app and increased popularity among global Gen Zs.

Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger occupied the third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively. This shows the increased use of the Meta-owned applications by global smartphone users. Video Editing app CapCut, Chinese-owned Temu, Google’s Gemini, Telegram and Snapchat completed the top 10 list.

In its compilation process, the report noted that download estimates used were on a per-user basis. This means that only one download per Apple or Google account counted towards the total. 

Also Read: Global internet users spent 5.3trn hours on apps and websites in 2025.

Social Media

Short-form video app TikTok, Google’s YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger are the top 5 most downloaded social media apps by global smartphone users in 2025. Telegram, X (formerly Twitter) and WeChat also made the top 10 list.

According to the report, total social media apps download slowdown by -12% from 9.14 billion in 2024 to 8.07 billion downloads in 2025, the lowest in 2022. On a positive note, total time spent in social media apps edged up slightly in 2025, rising from 3.3 trillion hours in 2024 to 3.4 trillion hours.

Despite its slow growth in time spent, social media continues to dominate engagement by global smartphone users. For instance, more than 60% of total time spent across mobile apps in 2025 occurred within social media and social messaging apps. 

Finance 

Digital Wallets & P2P Payments app dominated the top 10 most downloaded finance apps in 2025. PhonePe, American Fintech company, PayPal, Navi, Paytm and Google Pay, lined up in the top 5 list. The result highlights the growing shift of consumers’ preference from cryptocurrency to credit and lending.

Significantly, global downloads of Finance apps on smartphones continue to rise, up by +6% YoY from 7.7 billion to 8.2 billion. This is the first time finance downloads have surpassed 8 billion. 

Also, growth in time spent within Finance apps moderated by +8.5% YoY to 42 billion hours in 2025, following a rapid growth in 2023 and 2024. 

Retail

Chinese-based Temu and SHEIN topped the retail segment as Amazon Shopping, Meesho and Shopee completed the top 5 spots. While Temu dominated downloads in 2025, Amazon remained the global leader in usage, averaging 685 million monthly active users (MAUs) in Q4 2025.

Alibaba, Flipkart, AliExpress, Mercado Libre and Myntra completed the top 10 list. 

Meanwhile, global downloads for retail apps declined in 2025 by -2% YoY to 6.4 billion from 6.6 billion in 2025. This was partly attributed to the slowing expansion from major global players like Temu and SHEIN. However, growing U.S. tariffs and saturation in top markets limited the growth of Chinese-based retailers.

Video Streaming 

DramaBox, ReelShort and Netflix topped the most downloaded video streaming apps by global smartphone users in 2025. 

Downloads in this category surged by +39% YoY from 3.8 billion to 5.3 billion, attributed to the resurgence of short dramas. Also, total time spent across video streaming apps grew by +8%YoY from 101 billion hours to 109 billion hours, signalling a shift in consumer attention. 

Also, In-App Revenue (IAP) also witnessed a +18%YoY  increase from $12.4 billion to $14.6 billion in 2025.

Other apps such as Amazon Prime Video, Dramawave, RapidTV and Disney+ were listed in the top 10 list. 

Also Read: Apple leads 2025 global smartphone shipments with 20% market share and 10% YoY growth.

AI

While AI Assistants are the most popular generative AI apps, the top 10 apps by global downloads in the AI category were AI Assistants. Specifically, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Doubao and Perplexity are the top 5 most downloaded AI apps by global smartphone users in 2025. 

AI apps witnessed a sharp rise in time spent on the platform, witnessing a +240% surge from 13.4 billion hours to 48.1 billion hours. Interestingly, session volume followed a similar trajectory by surpassing one trillion in 2025. This shows that users are deepening their engagement across AI assistant apps.

xAI’s Grok, Seeker, Meta AI and Microsoft Copilot also lined up in the top 10 spots.

Travel

Ride-hailing Uber topped the most downloaded Travel apps by global smartphone users. Google Maps, Wave, and inDrive also made the top 5 list. This shows that Uber continues to maintain a massive global footprint. 

However, the travel category witnessed an upward trajectory as both global downloads and time spent grew by 3% and 8% YoY, respectively. According to the report, the growth was driven by emerging markets where travel infrastructure and digital adoption are rapidly expanding. 

Others in the top 10 are Airbnb, Rapido, DiDi Rider and Bolt. 

Sports

Dream11, DAZN, BeSoccer, My11Circle, Flashscore, Sofascore and ESPN topped the most downloaded Sports apps by global smartphone users in 2025. 

During the year, global sports app downloads surged to nearly 1.2 billion (+1.2% YoY), surpassing the 2023 peak and signalling record-high fan engagement. 

However, the total IAP revenue dropped to $1.4 billion from $1.6 billion, reflecting challenges in the Sports Streaming market. This is further attributed to the rise in piracy apps, which have witnessed a continued crackdown by authorities.

Recall that My Family Cinema (MFC), a popular video streaming platform known for piracy, was shut down after a crackdown on piracy networks in Argentina.

Read More: Popular piracy platform My Family Cinema shuts down after global crackdown.