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STORE INTELLIGENCE · JONATHAN BRISKMAN · JANUARY 2022

Sensor Tower's Q4 2021 Data Digest: Worldwide App Downloads Totaled 36.1 Billion Last Quarter

Sensor Tower's Q4 2021 Data Digest analyzes the quarter's top apps, games, and publishers.

Takeaways from Sensor Tower's Q4 2021 Store Intelligence Data Digest

The mobile app space is still in a state of transformation amid the ongoing global pandemic. Categories such as Shopping, Finance, and Entertainment came out on top at the end of 2021, while others are still trying to bounce back. To shed additional light on these trends and more, Sensor Tower is excited to announce the release of our latest Q4 2021 Store Intelligence Data Digest, available now, which analyzes the quarter's top apps, games, and publishers, plus the full year of 2021.

In total, worldwide app downloads reached 36.1 billion in 4Q21, a 2.7 percent year-over-year increase. Finance and Tools were among the quarter's top categories with 39 percent and 26 percent year-over-year growth on Google Play, respectively. This year, cryptocurrency and investing apps gained momentum with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) emerging as a hot trend. Our report also digs into the success of Instagram last quarter as the first app from Meta to reach the top of the downloads chart for a quarter since WhatsApp in Q4 2019.

Q4 Apps By Worldwide Downloads

This report also includes:

  • Rankings of the top publishers by downloads in the quarter and full-year 2021.

  • Year-over-year trends of top categories such as Entertainment, Shopping, and Finance.

  • Stories of the year, which cover the latest category trends amid the ongoing pandemic, Garena Free Fire's ascent, and the emergence of NFT apps.

Download the complete Q4 2021: Store Intelligence Data Digest in PDF form below:


Learn more about Sensor Tower Store Intelligence and how our industry-leading data can provide key insights on category download trends, monthly active users, and more.


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Jonathan Briskman

Written by: Jonathan Briskman, Senior Mobile Insights Analyst

Date: January 2022