Despite the many scandals it has been embroiled in over the past few years, Facebook is still dominating the app download charts.
Analytics firm Sensor Tower has published its Data Digest report for the period spanning October 1 to December 31 2019, and the findings are, well, genuinely quite disheartening.
Related: How to delete a Facebook account
Four of the five most downloaded apps worldwide (by both Android and iOS users) are owned by Facebook. WhatsApp tops the charts, and is followed by TikTok, Facebook, Messenger and Instagram − in that order.
It’s getting harder and harder to shake the feeling that Facebook and its creator, Mark Zuckerberg, are bulletproof.
The company has been linked to innumerable serious episodes, episodes that have had global consequences, and it has a long list of questions to answer on numerous fronts.
Questions around the role it played in the EU referendum, the role it played in Donald Trump’s election, its role in the spread of divisive misinformation, data breaches and privacy-related foul ups, its tax and advertising practices and, most recently, why it refuses to stop accepting money from politicians and political parties for ads that contain lies.
Yet it continues to amass new users.
But back to Sensor Tower’s report.
The findings for Europe-based smartphone users are very similar to its global findings, with the same apps forming the top for downloads, but in a slightly different order. WhatsApp is again at the top of the pile, and is followed by TikTok, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook.
App download trends in the US were a little bit more different, with the Disney Plus app leading the way, followed by TikTok, Messenger, Facebook and YouTube.
Related: How to delete an Instagram account
Disney Plus, of course, launched in the US in November, but the only European country it’s currently available in is the Netherlands.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
