The messaging app was downloaded 63 million times last month, 3.8 times its downloads in the same month a year ago.
The sudden increase in downloads could be attributed to WhatsApp’s privacy policy controversy that sparked outrage among its users and pushed many to switch to Telegram.
While TikTok came in a close second followed by Signal and Facebook, WhatsApp slid to the fifth position from its earlier third place, in January.
TikTok emerged as the second most installed non-gaming app worldwide last month with close to 62 million installs, Sensor Tower said.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, was the third-most installed app on both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store in December 2020.
Finally, Zoom fell from its December 2020 #5 spot to seventh most downloaded in January 2021.
Back in January, 2021 Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp announced delaying an update aimed at increasing business transactions on the platform after a storm of concern from users who feared that the messaging platform was watering down its privacy policy in the process.