Google has once again secured its status as the most popular internet service worldwide, as reported by Cloudflare, a cloud connectivity company managing 25% of global internet traffic.
Despite ongoing antitrust investigations, Google has been recognized for the third consecutive year as the leading internet service, search engine, and browser in Cloudflare’s annual Year in Review report, which analyzes internet trends and threats. Google Chrome dominates the worldwide browser market with a substantial 65.7% share, followed by Safari at 15.4%, Edge at 6.8%, Firefox at 4%, and Samsung Internet at 2.7%.
Trailing Google in popularity were Facebook, Apple, and TikTok, in that order. Notably, Amazon dropped to 10th place this year after holding the ninth position in 2023. Other significant findings include:
- TikTok remains resilient: The platform retains its position as the fourth most popular service overall and the second most popular social media site, despite facing credible threats of bans and increasing regulations.
- AI continues to dominate discussions: OpenAI has maintained its title as the leading Generative AI service for the second consecutive year, followed by Character.AI, Codeium, QuillBot, and Claude, amidst a growing pool of competitors and management changes.
- Facebook remains a fixture: Facebook outperformed TikTok yet again, securing its spot as the top social media platform, with Instagram, X, and Snapchat completing the top five.
- Video streaming remains strong: The Top 3 rankings saw no changes in 2024, with YouTube retaining its lead, followed by Netflix and Twitch. Among paid streaming services, Netflix leads the way, followed by Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video.
- Surprising news site dominance: Contrary to expectations in the English-speaking world, the most popular global news site belongs to Globo, a Brazilian media conglomerate, followed by BBC, New York Times, CNN, Fox News, Google News, Yahoo Finance, Daily Mail, RT, and NewsBreak.
- Increased internet outages: Government-directed internet shutdowns—both regional and national—accounted for over 220 outages globally in 2024, up from 180 in 2023.
- Starlink traffic surges: As SpaceX founder Elon Musk continues to make news, traffic to Starlink satellite internet services saw nearly triple growth this year, with Malawi experiencing a remarkable increase in traffic (42 times) since launching service in July 2023.
For more data insights on the changing landscape of the internet, visit the Cloudflare Radar 2024 Year In Review microsite at https://tinyurl.com/4bb8mcx9.
