• A report from Atlas VPN says TikTok users average 23.5 hours of watch time per month, up nearly four hours from last year.
• The app has also surpassed YouTube in terms of watch time, the first instance this has happened in an Atlas VPN report.
• The report also notes that people are spending 38 percent of their time on social media.

Despite being in the crosshairs of the US Congress for alleged ties to the Chinese government, TikTok still remains wildly popular.

In fact, a recent report from Atlas VPN suggests TikTok is the most popular social media app in the world at the moment. This as the company’s data says that on average, TikTok users spend 23.5 hours a month looking at short-form video content on the platform.

Atlas VPN says this is up three hours and 51 minutes from last year’s figure, helping the ByteDance-owned application supplant YouTube as the world’s most popular app, which sees users average 23.1 hours on its platform.

“The total time spent on TikTok amounts to nearly 282 hours per year,” the VPN service provider explained in a press release sent to Hypertext. 

“It is the first time TikTok has overtaken YouTube regarding time spent on social media. This surge in TikTok’s popularity is a testament to the app’s unique and engaging format, which has captured the attention of millions of users worldwide,” it added.

While it is a nice feather in the cap of the platform, Atlas VPN does highlight potential areas of concern regarding TikTok.

Atlas cites the same elements that US congresspeople have, namely its ties to the Chinese government thanks to its parent company, and what implications that could have down the line.

“TikTok is owned by a Beijing-based company ByteDance. Therefore many officials and security experts fear ByteDance could share sensitive TikTok user data with the Chinese government. This includes personal information such as browsing history, location, and biometric identifiers. The concern stems from a 2017 Chinese law obliging companies to provide data relevant to the country’s national security upon request,” it noted.

That said, Atlas was also careful to point out that the data tracking and sharing practices of TikTok are no different to that of other US-based social media platforms.

“While much of the discussion surrounding the app centers on national security concerns, it is worth noting that the risk is not substantially different for the average user from that of other popular social media applications,” it pointed out.

“Ultimately, it comes down to personal discretion and making informed choices about data security and online privacy issues. Awareness of the potential risks and taking necessary precautions can help ensure a safer experience with the app,” concluded Atlas VPN.

[Image – Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash]