ChatGPT overtakes TikTok, Instagram to become most downloaded app in March

OpenAI's ChatGPT app became the most downloaded app worldwide in the Android and Apple app stores, according to a report by Appfigures.In the Apple App Store, ChatGPT led with 13 million downloads. On Google Play Store, it secured the third position with 33 million downloads, behind Instagram and TikTok.

However, its combined total of 46 million app installations made it the most downloaded app in the world.ByteDance-owned TikTok, which dominated the charts for most of 2024, came in second with 45 million combined downloads from both Google Play and App Store.Facebook and WhatsApp round out the top five most downloaded apps in the world and given the rise of ChatGPT, especially with the Ghibli trend recently, the list is predicted to look like for the coming months.



According to the report, the top 10 most downloaded apps in the world saw a total of 339M downloads in March. This is significantly higher than February but a little less than last March, demonstrating a negative trend of downloads.Sam Altman's ChatGPT went viral on social media in March where users asked the chatbot to generate images of themselves or everyday scenes in the style of Studio Ghibli films—whimsical and nostalgic.

People flooded platforms like TikTok and Instagram with AI-generated visuals of “Ghibli-fied” cities, pets, meals, and even mundane errands. Some also posted political events like Donald Trump's meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, or famous films like Titanic and The Godfather.Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio known for its hand-drawn films that blend fantasy, nature, and emotional storytelling.

It was co-founded in 1985 by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.This trend catapulted ChatGPT into the spotlight, especially its image generation tools. For many, it was their first time using ChatGPT.

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