Chinese apps dominated Android and iOS downloads in US in 2025 — Here’s how TikTok, CapCut, Temu, Shein fared
Despite pressure and anti-China rhetoric from United States President Donald Trump and his administration, Chinese apps continued to dominate the Android and iOS download chart in the US last year, according to a CNBC report.
Notably, this happened even as TikTok’s parent company ByteDance finalized a deal to transfer control of its American unit in accordance with an agreement signed with the Trump administration on January 23.
The company has formed TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, a long-awaited joint venture to transfer parts of TikTok US to new owners including US software giant Oracle Corp., private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
Once the sale is completed, it will culminate years of wrangling that has threatened to shut down TikTok, the popular video-sharing app used by nearly 200 million Americans.
Against this backdrop, let’s take a look at how ByteDance’s Chinese apps, which include TikTok and CapCut, fare in the US in terms of annual downloads on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in 2025.
Number of app downloads in 2025: Here is the performance of Chinese apps in the USA
Despite being nearly banned, TikTok remained the second most downloaded app on both the App Store and Play Store in the US in 2025, according to a CNBC report, according to data from Sensor Tower. In particular, CapCut, the video editing application owned by ByteDance, ranked fourth, rising three places compared to 2024.
According to the report, Sensor Tower data showed Sam Altman-led OpenAI’s AI chatbot ChatGPT to take the top spot in 2025 amid a wave of AI expansion and industry boom.
Large e-commerce apps such as Shein and Temu also saw good placements. Although Shein was not in the top 10, it was the most downloaded clothing application in the USA, while Temu ranked seventh on the list. The report stated that Temu fell from the first place in 2024 to the seventh place in 2025, but the top 10 places came despite the customs duties imposed by Donald Trump.
Both Shein and Temu were dealt a heavy blow when Donald Trump lifted the “de minimis” rule allowing duty-free entry for packages under $800 on May 2 and then continued to impose heavy tariffs on China throughout the year.
Why do Chinese apps continue to see success in the US?
Citing Sensor Tower, CNBC reported that Chinese apps rose to the top of download charts as US customers preferred their “addictive algorithms, affordable prices and convenience.”
Liang Chen, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Singapore Management University, told CNBC: “2025 showed that these apps originating from China are not just policy arbitrageurs, but also adaptable ecosystems with governance capabilities on both the demand and supply side… (Policy) shocks in 2025 did not really eliminate demand. Rather, they proved that these platforms were able to adapt their logistics, trade mix, and incentive designs faster than consumer habits changed.”
Scott Miller, CEO of e-commerce consulting firm pdPlus, told the publication that the popularity of the Chinese algorithm-based app reflects a shift in consumer demands. “Their growth demonstrates that American consumers are now discovering products through highly engaging, viral and personalized content, making demand creation a function of entertainment and ongoing digital presence rather than traditional top-down branding,” he said.
Yao Jin, an associate professor of supply chain management at the University of Miami, put it simply for CNBC: “American consumers, in general, don’t really care about an app’s affiliation with a particular country, as long as they can find something they want at an affordable price. (This) is the competitive advantage of most Chinese-based apps.”
