TikTok has surpassed Google as the most popular internet destination
Image credit: Newsweek
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.
TikTok dethroned Google from the top spot in February, March, and June of this year, according to the rankings, and has held the position since August.
Last year, Google was first, followed by TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Netflix, all of which were in the top ten.
The COVID epidemic is thought to be one of the causes of 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 called Bytedance, already has more than one billion active users worldwide and is still growing.
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 platform isn’t without its share of controversies. 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.
Last year, TikTok was compelled to deny that it was under Chinese government control.
Theo Bertram, TikTok’s head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said the business will refuse any data requests from China.
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 most popular food trends on the app, such as baked feta spaghetti, which was declared the most searched dish of 2021 by Google.