- Many new social-media apps struggle to sustain user growth after going viral.
- Sensor Tower data shows major incumbents like Instagram and TikTok are still dominating.
- Can new platforms strategize for better longevity?
A new app hits the top of the app store, everyone is talking about it, and millions download it. Then what?
Well, for many buzzy apps, that moment in the sun is fleeting.
According to recent data from marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower, it is much tougher for new social-media platforms to grow and retain users compared to major incumbents like Instagram or TikTok.
For instance, BeReal, which recently sold to Voodoo Games for 500 million euros, has seen a 55% decrease in downloads year-over-year through the first half of 2024, per Sensor Tower estimates.
It's not just BeReal, either. Other buzzy apps, like photo-sharing app Lapse or anonymous Q&A platform NGL, have also seen downloads and active users "fall materially over the past year as consumer interest in these platforms waned," the report says.
Sensor Tower estimates that MAUs decreased across each of the three apps since December, with Lapse down 32%, NGL down 16%, and BeReal down 3%.
"Shortly after launch we removed the requirement to invite friends which, as expected, resulted in a decrease of downloads," a spokesperson for Lapse said. "We did this purposefully so that we could build the next phase of the platform with a strong, active user base. We know that the next large social platform is not going to be built over night and we've seen the pitfalls of other products of growing too fast too early and accordingly we're purposefully managing the company's growth and runway in order to ensure we build the best possible product and then enter our next stage of growth when the time is right."
Meanwhile, Sensor Tower estimates that platforms like Instagram and TikTok saw slight increases in MAUs since December — 4% and 3%, respectively — and at the scale of billions of users, that's a lot.
Threads, which is under Instagram's umbrella, is also growing. Meta recently reported that the platform had reached 175 million MAUs as it approached its first anniversary. Sensor Tower estimates that Threads' 13% increase in MAUs since December can be tied to the app's expansion into the European market.
New apps have an uncertain lifespan
Many people are looking for alternatives to the social-media platforms they know, which has led to the rise of new apps.
For instance, the disposable camera app Dispo, cofounded by YouTuber David Dobrik, had a buzzy moment at the top of the US Apple app store charts in 2021. But that soon faded, and like many other apps that promised a better social-media experience, it didn't manage to sustain its growth.
More recently, Noplace, dubbed a Gen-Z MySpace, officially launched last week and reached the top of Apple's charts before cooling off.
But hitting the top of the charts doesn't guarantee longevity — and some founders are consciously making decisions that might hurt short-term growth.
"There are a few places where we've chosen comfort over — or perhaps to the detriment of — the growth of the product or the business," Retro cofounder Ryan Olson previously told Business Insider. "Friend lists are private. That's something that if you tried to do that at Meta, you'd be crazy because that's such a key growth surface."
While breaking charts and raking in millions of users rapidly is bound to attract attention — and, in some cases, investor dollars — perhaps the viral app playbook might not be the right one when building an app with staying power.
As Noplace founder Tiffany "TZ" Zhong recently told BI: "The biggest risk being a fad."
