The looming threat of a TikTok ban has done little to thwart the short-video app's popularity with young users. A new survey by Piper Sandler found that TikTok actually increased its lead over Meta Platforms' Instagram and Snap's Snapchat for favorability among American teens.
TikTok was ranked as the favorite social media app by roughly 47% of the 7,000 U.S. teenagers surveyed by Piper Sandler this spring. That's up from 39% in a similar survey during the fall. Instagram was ranked the favorite app of 28% of teens, down from 32% in the spring. Snapchat was third, as the favorite app of 14% of teenagers. That was down from 18% in the spring.
Facebook was a distant fourth, as the favorite of 3% of U.S. teens. Meta last year highlighted efforts focused on boosting Facebook's rep with what it called young-adult users age 18 to 29.
But Instagram beat TikTok in actual usage by teens, Piper Sandler's survey found. About 87% of teenagers reported using Instagram in the past month, compared to 79% for TikTok. Both numbers were flat from the spring. Snapchat use among teens was also flat from the previous survey, at 72%.
TikTok Ban: Trump Extends Deadline
The data comes as TikTok's future in the U.S. remains uncertain. President Donald Trump late last week extended a deadline for another 75 days for TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell the company's U.S. operations.
TikTok is available for American users under a temporary reprieve from a 2024 law that bans the short-video app unless its parent company ByteDance divests ownership.
Trump delayed enforcement of the ban for 75 days on his first day in office, Jan. 20, allowing TikTok to restart operations for its more than 170 million U.S. users after a brief shutdown. The law was signed by President Joe Biden last year with bipartisan support, as lawmakers cited concerns about security risks from TikTok being owned by a China-based company.
Ahead of the potential TikTok ban, there have been several reported buyers for the popular short video app. That includes a reported offer from Amazon and from mobile ad company AppLovin.
Trump was briefed last week on a plan dubbed "TikTok America." The proposal would bring new American investors in and dilute ByteDance's ownership of TikTok in the U.S. to below 20%. However, progress on the deal was reportedly stopped by the Chinese government after Trump announced his tariff plans late last Wednesday.
