Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
It may be banned or partially restricted in over 20 countries due to data security concerns, but TikTok reigned as the most popular app in the UAE in 2024.
The short video app created by Chinese company ByteDance topped both the total time spent and IAP revenue categories, according to Sensor Tower's State of Mobile 2025 report.
UAE users spent 7.63 billion hours on the platform in 2024, marking a 10% year-over-year (YoY) growth. TikTok also led in in-app purchases (IAP), earning $146 million, marking a 37% increase from the previous year.
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Messenger and Telegram followed closely in the download rankings of social media apps.
Globally, mobile users clocked nearly 2.4 trillion hours across social media apps in 2024 - an increase of 6% YoY.
With an average of 50 minutes per person daily, social media apps far outpaced other categories, with messaging apps trailing at 607 billion hours, followed by browsers at 330 billion hours.
Users in the UAE spent 9.87 billion hours on social media apps, generating $155 million in IAP revenue and recording 44.8 million downloads.
AI Chatbots and Mobile Games Surge in Popularity
A key trend in 2024 was the rise of AI chatbot apps, with ChatGPT emerging as the global leader in both downloads and consumer spending.
In the UAE, ChatGPT was the top AI chatbot app by downloads in 2024, followed by Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot.
In Q4 2024 alone, downloads of AI chatbots rose by 119% worldwide, according to the report.
"While ChatGPT is the clear leader with roughly 40% of global Generative AI app consumer spend and 23% of downloads in 2024, there has been plenty of space for other apps to emerge. Sixteen different Generative AI apps reached at least $10 million in IAP revenue in 2024, and 25 had more than 10 million downloads," it stated.
The report also revealed that the UAE saw a 13% YoY increase in mobile games' in-app purchases (IAP), reaching $276.7 million.
Globally, mobile game IAP revenue rose 4% to $80.9 billion, despite a slight decline in downloads.
"This decline reflects market stabilisation amid industry consolidation and broader tech sector pressures. Despite this, consumers are spending more time on mobile devices and increasingly making purchases, driven by improved gaming experiences and enhanced monetisation strategies," the report said.
In the financial apps sector, Tabby (Buy Now, Pay Later), Taptap Send (Digital Wallets), and C3Pay (P2P Payments) dominated the local market, mirroring a global trend where finance app downloads exceeded 7 billion in 2024 - an 8% increase YoY.
In retail, Temu led in downloads in the UAE, followed by Trendyol, Shein, Noon and Amazon Shopping.
Globally, e-commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein dominated app stores.
