Continued uncertainty about TikTok's future may have provided Snapchat a big boost in August. Or maybe it was just the Disney eye filter that went viral. In any case, preliminary estimates from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicate that Snapchat's mobile app on iOS and Android recorded about 28.5 million new installs last month, its single biggest month for mobile phones. first downloads since May 2019, when it then saw 41.2 million new installations.
May 2019, however, was an outlier in Snapchat history. The only other month besides May 2019 that Snapchat had seen more monthly downloads than August was December 2016, Sensor Tower data indicates.
Based on the company's results, Snapchat downloads were up 29% year-over-year in August 2020 compared to 9% growth in July.
It's unclear what combination of trends or changes may have shaped Snapchat's download data over the past month.
But a significant area of concern in the social apps space has been the ongoing news of a possible US TikTok ban. News coverage of the ban has already had a major impact on app store rankings in recent weeks. In early August, a number of TikTok's direct competitors - including Likee, Byte, Dubsmash, Triller, and others - saw sizable increases in weekly active users in the US, but none grew to the point where it was obvious to take. TikTok's place if the Chinese-owned video app is banned from the United States, under Trump's executive order.
It was more difficult, however, to pinpoint how bigger TikTok competitors, like Snapchat and Instagram, were affected by news of a TikTok ban. These broader social apps tend to grow continuously on a monthly basis and regularly add new features that could impact downloads and usage. For example, Instagram has expanded its live streaming, shopping capabilities in recent weeks, and debuted its TikTok alternative, Reels.
While not a direct rival to TikTok, Snapchat has also worked to attract the same young demographic that now prefers the short form video app.
This month, Snapchat announced its plans to launch a new music-powered feature that will appeal to TikTok users. The feature, which is expected to arrive this fall, will allow users to set their Snaps to music, similar to TikTok. Shoot also confirmed that it has agreements with major music industry partners, including Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell, Universal Music Publishing Group, member publishers NMPA, Merlin and others, who have licensed their content for use in the Snapchat app.
Additionally, Snapchat in late July activated a new feature called "Minis," which are basically lightweight, simplified versions of the apps that live in Snapchat's chat section. The apps, built using HTML, allow users to engage in a variety of activities, such as buying tickets, meditating with Headspace, collaborating with friends, and more, without having to leave the app.
Snapchat also benefited from a prominent position on the App Store. Apple currently features it on an app suggestion list curated by an editor called "New to iPhone?" found on the "App" home page of the App Store. The collection, which you don't even have to scroll down to find, recommends apps that first-time iPhone users will want to download.
Other spikes in downloads could be attributed to the increase in marketing spend, as is common among larger app publishers. Snapchat, however, doesn't comment on what, specifically, may have changed in August.
And maybe it was just those 66.4 million TikTok videos tagged #disneyfilter that gave Snapchat a shot last month!
Sensor Tower's new Snapchat data is considered preliminary because it was only finalized until August 26. When the remaining days of August are also finalized, there may be changes to the resulting numbers. But these changes are likely to be minor at best.
These figures were also initially reported by one of Sensor Tower's financial services clients in a note from an analyst. They were not advertised by Sensor Tower's data reporting team. But the company confirmed the accuracy of the data with ProWellTech.
Snapchat, as of its earnings in the second quarter of July, reported that its daily active users grew to 238 million, up nearly 4% from the 229 million reported by the company in April. The company will not comment on the new download data.
