TikTok Reaches 1B Users in 5.1 Years; Second-Fastest Among Social Media Apps

For the last couple of years, TikTok’s stature as a social media platform has grown rapidly, and is now a household name despite the presence of social media giants like Facebook and Twitter. In the second half of 2021, TikTok boasted that it joined the elite clube of social media applications to reach one billion active users. According to data presented by Buyshares, TikTok is the second-fastest social media platform to 1B users, just behind Facebook, after reaching the milestone in just 5.1 years.

TikTok Second-Fastest Social Media Platform to 1B Users

TikTok’s origin starts with an app that started in September 2016 and was popularised in Mainland China known as Douyin. TikTok is the international version of the Chinese app and has become a household name since. The platform’s rise to popularity is happening in breakneck speed, with TikTok reaching the impressive milestone of 1B users in just 5.1 years.

Out of major social media platforms, TikTok accomplished the feat the second-fastest with Facebook Messenger the only social media app to beat it after accomplishing the feat in just 4.9 years. Arguably however, the speed of TikTok’s rise is far more impressive than Facebook Messenger which was already in operation as an extension of the Facebook website before it was released as an app. This gave Faecbook Messenger a significant headstart compared to TikTok.

The next fastest after TikTok is Chinese app WeChat which took a little over 7 years to accomplish the feat.Facebook’s (now known as Meta) other apps such as its main app for Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp took 7.7 years, 8.5 years and 8.7 years respectively to reach the milestone. Video-sharing platform, Youtube also took a little over 8 years to reach 1B users.

Robert Pascal, Tech editor at Buyshares, commented:

“TikTok is the social media platform that is generating a lot of buzz in the last couple of years, particularly among the younger generations. The app’s popularity is impossible to miss as it has fully permeated mainstream pop-culture, ensuring that the 1B user mark is not the only milestone the platform will break in the near future.”