Social media platforms continue to dominate the digital landscape, connecting billions of users worldwide. The top networks, including Meta-owned Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram, maintain their stronghold, while platforms like TikTok, WeChat, and Douyin also command significant user bases. This list includes Telegram, which is currently facing a ban in India, and is in the middle of a controversy. Notably, the app is facing increased scrutiny worldwide as governments grapple with its role in facilitating both free speech and purported security threats. Meta's ownership of several leading platforms underscores its substantial influence in the social media sphere. The industry remains dynamic, with evolving trends and ongoing security considerations shaping its trajectory. Most top ranked social networks with more than 100 million users originated in the United States, but services like Chinese social networks WeChat, QQ or video sharing app Douyin have also garnered mainstream appeal in their respective regions due to local context and content, according to DateReportal. Douyin’s popularity has led to the platform releasing an international version of its network: a little app called TikTok.
The digital era has transformed global communication, with social media at the forefront of this revolution. In 2024, approximately two-thirds of people globally access the Internet, totalling around 5.35 billion users.
As of 2024, over five billion individuals actively engage on social platforms, representing more than 60 per cent of the world's population, DateReportal added. In this article, we bring you the top 10 most influential social media networks in 2024, which also includes Pavel Durov-owned Telegram, which is currently facing a ban in India.
- Facebook: 3,070 million
- YouTube: 2,500 million
- WhatsApp: 2,000 million
- Instagram: 2,000 million
- TikTok: 1,600 million
- WeChat: 1,360 million
- Facebook Messenger: 977 million
- Telegram: 900 million
- Snapchat: 800 million
- Douyin: 755 million
Facebook remains the most popular platform with over 3 billion active users. The top four platforms all have at least 2 billion active users. Meta (formerly Facebook) owns four of the top seven platforms: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. TikTok has risen to become the 5th most popular platform globally.
Chinese platforms WeChat and Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) both appear in the top 10. Telegram, known for its privacy features, but in the middle of a controversy now, has grown to 900 million users.
There's a significant drop in user numbers between the 7th (Facebook Messenger) and 8th (Telegram) positions.