TechCrunch’s iPhone app store data shows that the Facebook app has lost steam on the top app store charts. According to the report, Meta-owned Facebook is struggling to maintain its position among the top 10 apps on the US App Store this year. He says younger consumers are now turning to new social media experiences like TikTok and BeReal.
According to the report, Facebook only dropped out of the Top 10 Free iPhone Apps in the US seven times in 2021. But in 2022, that figure has already shot up to 97, indicating that Facebook may be losing ground as new apps make their way into the top rankings of the App Store.
For a more direct comparison, the Facebook app dropped out of the App Store’s top 10 apps just six times during the first half of 2021. However, in the first half of 2022, it dropped out of this group a total of 59 times, by data provided to TechCrunch by application intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
It once stayed out of the Top 10 for as long as 37 consecutive days in 2022; the firm noted, up from just two consecutive days in 2021.
Additional analysis provided by another App Store data provider, data.ai, formerly App Annie, also supported this conclusion — though it found the app dropped out of the Top 10 on iPhone in the US only 4 times throughout 2021, compared with 110 days in 2022 so far.
It found Facebook’s drop-off times this year were mainly concentrated in April, May and June. April was Facebook’s worst month, as the app’s rank fell into the 30s on April 18 and reached as low as No. 44 on April 21.
Notably, this was around when BeReal was climbing the App Store’s Top Charts, breaking into the Top 5. BeReal is the No. 1 non-gaming app on the US App Store.
A ranking in the Top 10 Apps is only one means of measuring an app’s success. It only indicates a company’s ability to attract new users. But does not determine the ability to maintain traction with existing ones- a front that Facebook has not yet conceded as it remains the top app by monthly active users as of the most recent quarter, per data.ai’s analysis.
What is problematic is Facebook losing its Top 10 position to newcomers in social networking like the current No. 1 app BeReal due to growth from COVID-era necessities, like Zoom