This was first published October 1, in our weekly newsletter Apptopia Insight. To receive insights like this weekly, sign up here.

  • META Connect went well, with AR and AI the hot topics
  • However, we have rising concerns about Instagram
  • After the Reels-driven growth of 2023, Instagram is losing user time and attention to TikTok again

Trouble at Instagram. After a massive increase in user engagement in 2023, Instagram has seen weakening trends through most of 2024. Time spent by young users on Instagram rose from 49 minutes per day at the beginning of 2023 to 70 minutes per day at the end of 2023. This was driven by the truly impressive growth of Reels. However, young users have spent less and less time on Instagram in 2024, with minutes per day down -10% to 63 in September. While this is still an impressive amount of engagement, this trend is heading the wrong way.

TikTok is just so darn compelling. Reels users decided they needed to be more demure and have been heading back over to TikTok. The percentage of Instagram users who also used TikTok was 70% to start 2023. That fell to 62% in September of 2023, and for a brief period of time, a higher percent of TikTok users Instagram than vice versa. However, Instagram users began to return to TikTok, and by July of 2024 the percentage had bounced up to 68%. As of September 2024, users who have both TikTok and Instagram spend 99 minutes per day on TikTok but only 39 minutes per day on Instagram.

Instagram-TikTok Cross-App – Instagram Users Return to TikTok in 2024 (orange line)

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