Image Source: Forbes
TikTok has surpassed Google as the world’s most popular internet site.
According to Cloudflare, an IT security company, the viral video app receives more hits than the American search engine.
According to the rankings, TikTok dethroned Google in February and March of this year and has held the top spot since August.
Last year, Google was first, followed by TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Netflix, all of which were in the top ten. Cloudflare claims to track data using its web traffic monitoring tool, Cloudflare Radar.
The Covid epidemic is thought to be one of the causes for Tiktok’s popularity spike, as lockdowns meant individuals were stranded at home and looking for entertainment.
According to monitoring firm Sensor Tower, TikTok had been downloaded over three billion times by July of this year.
The social network, which is owned by a Chinese business named Bytedance, already has more than one billion active users worldwide and is still growing. To comply with Chinese censorship laws, the app is known as Douyin and runs on a separate network.
Douyin first came out in September of 2016. China decided this year to prohibit users under the age of 14 to 40 minutes each day on the platform.
Concerns about security
After combining with Musical.ly, a Chinese social media service that allowed users to submit videos of themselves lip-syncing to songs, TikTok was introduced abroad in 2018.
The social networking site has a history of causing controversy. Musical.ly was revealed to have deliberately hosted content produced by underage users in 2019, earning it a temporary suspension in India, a US counter-intelligence inquiry, and a record £4.3 million punishment.
Politicians and regulators outside China have expressed worries about security and privacy because it is one of the few internationally successful Chinese apps.
Last year, TikTok was compelled to deny that it was under Chinese government control. TikTok’s head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Theo Bertram, said the company would resist any request from China for data.
The app features a wide range of short videos, including humor, dance, and politics. The rivalry on TikTok has become so fierce that being recognized on the app is becoming increasingly difficult. These services are even being used by some corporations and individuals to expand their Tiktok accounts.
Expansion
TikTok’s growth has been fueled by food and recipe videos, with viral clips garnering millions of views.
As a result, in March, TikTok Kitchen, a new food delivery service in the United States, will begin, allowing users to order recipes inspired by popular videos. The menu will be based on the app’s most popular food trends, including baked feta spaghetti, which Google named the most searched dish of 2021.
Robert Earl, the owner of Planet Hollywood, Buca di Beppo, and Bertucci’s in the United States, is a co-founder of TikTok Kitchen. According to him, approximately 300 TikTok eateries will open across the country for the debut, with over 1,000 projected by the end of 2022.
TikTok Kitchen will operate out of many of Mr. Earl’s restaurant businesses.
