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.
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