TikTok Tops the List of Most Popular Mobile Apps in the UAE for 2024

A recent report has highlighted the mobile applications that captured the most attention from UAE residents in 2024, with TikTok emerging as the clear leader.

According to Sensor Tower's "State of Mobile 2025" report, the short-video app took the top spot, with residents spending an average of 2 hours daily on the platform.

The report reveals that the UAE's 11.2 million residents collectively spent a staggering 7.63 billion hours on TikTok last year. This translates to about 700 hours per resident. Haleema Saud, a local student, is one of many users who spend significant time on the app.

"On weekdays, I spend three to four hours on TikTok, and on a free day, I can easily spend eight hours just watching videos on everything from cooking to computer engineering,"

she shared.

Globally, TikTok recently made headlines due to concerns over user data security, especially in the US, where efforts to ban the app have been ongoing. Despite such controversies, TikTok's dominance continues in the UAE.

Following TikTok, Telegram ranks as the second most popular app in the UAE, with residents averaging one hour a day on the messaging platform. Other frequently used apps in the country include WhatsApp Business, MX Player, Phone by Google, Google Maps, PLAYit, and Gmail.

In terms of app downloads, TikTok was the second most downloaded app in the UAE last year, just behind VPN Proxy Master. Social media apps continued to dominate, with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp Messenger also among the most downloaded.

In the finance sector, the buy-now-pay-later platform Tabby topped the charts, followed by digital wallets like Taptap Send and C3Pay. E-commerce also saw growth, with Chinese app Temu becoming the most downloaded shopping app in the UAE and 15 other major markets, thanks to its direct-from-factory pricing model that offers consumers more affordable options amidst economic uncertainty.

Other popular shopping apps included Trendyol, Shein, Noon, and Amazon, which rounded out the top five.

News Source: Khaleej Times