Gen Z’s Top Apps

The results are in: Gen Z’s app download data reveals that the generation loves TikTok, embraces OpenAI, is rediscovering PayPal, and suggests that Quibi may have been a little ahead of its time.

The Big Picture: In our tech-saturated society, app downloads over the past year reveal where trends in social media, entertainment, personal finance, and AI are either emerging or have gone mainstream.

Behind The Code: Techcrunch, using data from app intelligence firm Appfigures, took a look at Gen Z’s app diet (at least those aged 18 to 24).

• The most downloaded app was the Chinese fast-fashion retailer Temu, which had 41.98 million installs, demonstrating how quickly the brand has caught up with rival Shein.
• Young people remain obsessed with TikTok (#2 at 33.23 million downloads) while also showing a lot of love for TikTok editing tool CapCut and other ByteDance apps, like social app Lemon8 and AI study companion Gauth.
• Meta also made inroads with the young generation, scoring 32.32 million downloads for Threads, with WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram all above 20 million installs.
• In entertainment, Netflix remains the top streaming service (15.67 million downloads), but short-film streamer ShortMax notched over 10 million installs.
• OpenAI has converted young people to the chatbot life with 24.63 million downloads, which they admit they use for their college papers.
• And in a money-sharing surprise, PayPal posted 13.92 downloads, beating out Venmo and Cash App… both of which didn’t crack 10 million.

The Future: Gen Z accounts for roughly 40% of mobile users worldwide. While the study only accounted for Americans, it’s a fair microcosm for much of the developed world. Expect ad dollars to continue pouring or start pouring into every one of these platforms.