September 8, 2021
TikTok is now close behind YouTube. According to a BBC report, TikTok has overtaken YouTube in average viewing time per user in the U.S. and U.K.
While YouTube is still the largest video site in terms of the number of users and the total number of videos viewed, the average U.S. TikTok user watches more video than the typical U.S. YouTube viewer.
App Annie lists TikTok as the most downloaded app in 2020 and revealed that the average TikTok watch time per user surpassed YouTube’s in April.
YouTube has done its best to maintain its lead over TikTok. YouTube TikTok clone YouTube Shorts, launched in the U.S. in May, delivers 60-second video clips in a mobile-first, swipeable interface.
TikTok is one of the few globally known apps made in China. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing and is partially owned by the Chinese government.
The company was allegedly caught censoring content worldwide on behalf of China. Because of its Chinese connections, TikTok was banned in India and almost blacklisted in the U.S.
For more information, read the original story in Ars Technica.
