An analysis by Vidpros of 34 platforms revealed notable drops in popularity for several apps since 2021.
The analysis found that a video-sharing app called JOSH lost the most popularity since 2021, with a 71.08% decline. It was somewhat a replacement of TikTok after it was banned in India. There were 31,120 average monthly searches of the app in 2022, with a peak of 48,350 in 2022, but it declined to only 9,000 monthly searches in 2025.
The second app, which saw a huge decrease in its popularity, was Likee, with a decline of 58.96% since 2021. It's owned by a Singaporean tech firm with 409,400 monthly average searches in 2021. In 2025, the average monthly searches of Likee dropped to 168,000 while it had 150 million monthly active users at its peak.
Facebook is the most well-known and popular app, but its popularity has also declined by 42.81% since 2021. In 2021, Meta's Facebook was searched 1,080,600,000 times but the figure dropped to 618,000,000 in 2025. "Facebook’s monthly active users have stayed consistent over the years, but the sharp decline in searches suggests that its demographic is aging and becoming less attractive to younger, newer users who instead use other forms of social media to communicate.", explained Michael Holmes, founder of Vidpros in an email to Digital Information World.
QZone saw a 42.18% decline while Twitch saw a 32.14% decline since 2021. In 2021, QZone was searched 23,260 times a month, while its monthly searches dropped to 13,450 in 2025. On the other hand, Twitch is now being searched 37,200,000 times monthly in 2024, while it was searched 54,820,000 times a month in 2021. The monthly active streamers on Twitch also went from 9.89 million in 2021 to 7.23 million in 2024. There was a 32.06% decline in Facebook Messenger and a 22.90% decline in Discord in popularity. Other top ten apps which have seen a decline in their popularity are Line (16.72%), WeChat (14.68%), and Weibo (12.98%).
Commenting on the findings, Michael Holmes, founder of Vidpros said, "A 2024 Gartner report predicted that by the end of 2025, half of consumers will abandon or significantly limit their interactions with social media. While it’s unclear whether this will be the case yet, what is clear is that there’s been a definite change between what consumers used to want from social media and what they want now." Adding further, "Apps focused on content creation and creativity, such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, all saw a rise in searches, however, messaging services like WeChat, Messenger, Viber, and Skype, all experienced decreases. This shift from traditional social media uses to more visual apps suggests that users are now prioritizing entertainment over communication."
Methodology: This study ranks social media platforms with at least 100 million active users by their change in global Google searches from 2021 to 2025, utilizing monthly search volume data from Google Keyword Planner.
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The analysis found that a video-sharing app called JOSH lost the most popularity since 2021, with a 71.08% decline. It was somewhat a replacement of TikTok after it was banned in India. There were 31,120 average monthly searches of the app in 2022, with a peak of 48,350 in 2022, but it declined to only 9,000 monthly searches in 2025.
The second app, which saw a huge decrease in its popularity, was Likee, with a decline of 58.96% since 2021. It's owned by a Singaporean tech firm with 409,400 monthly average searches in 2021. In 2025, the average monthly searches of Likee dropped to 168,000 while it had 150 million monthly active users at its peak.
Facebook is the most well-known and popular app, but its popularity has also declined by 42.81% since 2021. In 2021, Meta's Facebook was searched 1,080,600,000 times but the figure dropped to 618,000,000 in 2025. "Facebook’s monthly active users have stayed consistent over the years, but the sharp decline in searches suggests that its demographic is aging and becoming less attractive to younger, newer users who instead use other forms of social media to communicate.", explained Michael Holmes, founder of Vidpros in an email to Digital Information World.
QZone saw a 42.18% decline while Twitch saw a 32.14% decline since 2021. In 2021, QZone was searched 23,260 times a month, while its monthly searches dropped to 13,450 in 2025. On the other hand, Twitch is now being searched 37,200,000 times monthly in 2024, while it was searched 54,820,000 times a month in 2021. The monthly active streamers on Twitch also went from 9.89 million in 2021 to 7.23 million in 2024. There was a 32.06% decline in Facebook Messenger and a 22.90% decline in Discord in popularity. Other top ten apps which have seen a decline in their popularity are Line (16.72%), WeChat (14.68%), and Weibo (12.98%).
Commenting on the findings, Michael Holmes, founder of Vidpros said, "A 2024 Gartner report predicted that by the end of 2025, half of consumers will abandon or significantly limit their interactions with social media. While it’s unclear whether this will be the case yet, what is clear is that there’s been a definite change between what consumers used to want from social media and what they want now." Adding further, "Apps focused on content creation and creativity, such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, all saw a rise in searches, however, messaging services like WeChat, Messenger, Viber, and Skype, all experienced decreases. This shift from traditional social media uses to more visual apps suggests that users are now prioritizing entertainment over communication."
Methodology: This study ranks social media platforms with at least 100 million active users by their change in global Google searches from 2021 to 2025, utilizing monthly search volume data from Google Keyword Planner.
Read next:
• Instagram and Facebook Users See Fewer Friend Posts as Meta Defends Itself in Court
• Marketers Embrace AI: 85% Use Tools, 70% See Efficiency Gains, and 50% Save Over 5 Hours Weekly
