It was a breakout year for generative AI and the leader of this category, ChatGPT, was the most downloaded app of the year with 770 million installs.
The chatbot managed to supplant TikTok and Instagram, which have held the top two positions in our ranking for the four years. ChatGPT was the most installed app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Most popular apps 2025 (mm)
The only other chatbot to make the top 15 was Google Gemini, clocking in 354 million installs in 2025. If we broadened it to the top 50 most installed, two Chinese chatbots DeepSeek and Cici by TikTok-owner ByteDance made the cut.
Outside of the rise of the chatbots, the top 15 looks more or less the same as last year. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp made the top five again, each one rank down due to the surge from ChatGPT. Total downloads for all four of these apps was down year-on-year however, with an average decline of 155 million downloads between them.
Facebook’s Threads remains in the top 10, showing its staying power while rival X lingers. The social media giant has pushed Threads heavily on Facebook and Instagram, forcing users to sign up to view content that’s advertised on those platforms.
Three games made it to the top 15 this year, a big improvement on 2024. The three were Block Blast, Roblox and Free Fire. Block Blast has shot up the rankings in 2025, getting more than 300 million installs, a remarkable feat for a new twist on Tetris.
In terms of those that missed the cut this time, last year Facebook Messenger, Spotify and Shein were in, but missed out this year. While total downloads of the apps at the top of the pile decreased, the average downloads increased at the bottom of the rankings.
If you want to see more rankings by category and country, check out our most popular apps post.
