Entering the short video market successfully? Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, surpassed ByteDance in new downloads last year.

Instagram is making progress in the short video field, while ByteDance's explosive growth is beginning to slow down.

According to media reports on Friday, market intelligence company Sensor Tower data shows that Instagram had 768 million downloads worldwide last year, making it the most downloaded app globally, with a 20% year-on-year increase. In contrast, ByteDance's downloads only saw a slight increase of 4% to 733 million times.

This data indicates that by emulating ByteDance's model, Instagram launched the "Reels" short video feature, successfully attracting a large number of new users. Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously listed ByteDance's rise as one of the biggest threats to its social media empire. Analysis points out:

Instagram has successfully retained existing users by using the short video feature, making potential ByteDance users lose the motivation to switch. At the same time, content creators are increasingly inclined towards Instagram, as ByteDance is a platform that can achieve overnight fame, while it is easier to make money from the fan base on Instagram.

Despite temporarily lagging behind in app downloads, ByteDance maintains a significant advantage in user engagement. Data shows that in the fourth quarter of last year, ByteDance users spent an average of 95 minutes per day, while Instagram only had 62 minutes.

However, ByteDance's performance in the e-commerce sector is remarkable. Last year, ByteDance Shop achieved a total of $1.1 billion in merchandise sales in the United States, with annual in-app purchases exceeding $4 billion, far surpassing Instagram's $143 million.

Overall, Instagram and ByteDance are engaged in fierce competition in attracting new users, retaining existing users, content creators, and e-commerce. The future dominance of these two major platforms in the video social and e-commerce markets will depend on how they mutually learn from and innovate in algorithms, features, and business models.