Tech giants will now face major fines in Japan if they fail to give access to third-party smarthphone apps and payment systems on their platforms – Copyright AFP/File STAFF
Facebook, with over 3 billion users, is the most widely banned major app worldwide, being blocked in seven countries, including North Korea and Russia. Across social media platforms, China is the most frequent country imposing bans, restricting access to popular apps like WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Google.
Internet censorship affects over 3.8 billion people worldwide, with nearly half the global population living in countries that restrict access to popular platforms. The influencer platform Heepsy recently did a study to identify which popular apps face government bans worldwide.
The research examined multiple popularity indicators, including monthly active users, U.S. market share, annual revenue, and online search interest, to determine the most popular apps globally. Then, the study analysed which of these leading apps face the most significant government restrictions, documenting lists of countries where each application is currently prohibited or limited in functionality.
The top ten most banned apps worldwide
| App | Monthly Users | Revenue Total 2023 | Banned in |
| 3.05B | $134.9B | China, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uganda | |
| 3.03B | $1.24B | China, North Korea, Syria, Qatar and the UAE | |
| Youtube | 2.7B | $31.5B | North Korea, partial ban in Germany, China, North Korea, Thailand, Malaysia |
| Intagram | 2B | $50.58B | China, Vietnam, North Korea, Turkey |
| 1.5B | $305.6B | China | |
| 1.3B | $16.4B | India, partial ban in Canada, UK, New Zealand (government devices) | |
| TikTok | 1B | $120B | India, partial bans in Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, Indonesia |
| 335.7M | $3.4B | China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Turkmenistan | |
| Baidu | 667M | $14.57B | India |
| Spotify | 602M | $13.2B | China, Ethiopia, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Cuba and Venezuela |
As per the above table, Facebook ranks first as the most popular app facing the widest restrictions globally. The platform reports 3.05B monthly active users while generating $134.9B in annual revenue. Despite this massive presence, Facebook remains inaccessible in seven countries, including China, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uganda.
WhatsApp takes second place with a user base nearly matching Facebook at 3.03B users. The messaging app faces prohibition in five states: China, North Korea, Syria, Qatar, and the UAE. WhatsApp’s ranking in the second place means that the world’s two most restricted popular apps are both owned by Meta.
YouTube holds the third position in the worldwide ban list, posting 2.7B monthly active users. The platform also attracts the most online interest, as people look for more information about it around 10M times every month. Despite the popularity, YouTube is subject to complete blockage in North Korea while dealing with partial restrictions in Germany, China, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Instagram comes in fourth place with 2B monthly users worldwide. The image-focused platform is banned in four countries: China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Turkey. Although the app encounters restrictions in some big markets, Instagram still generates one of the largest annual revenues at $50.58B.
Google takes fifth position as the world’s biggest search engine with 1.5B monthly users. Google is prohibited in just one major market: China, which operates its own local search engine called Baidu. Even with the China restrictions, Google holds its position as the industry’s top earner, generating $305.6B annually.
WeChat holds sixth place with 1.3B monthly users, mostly concentrated in China. The “super app” with different functions has a full ban in India and partial restrictions on government devices in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand. WeChat generates $16.4B in annual revenue globally, with just $71.4M coming from its limited US user base of 4M.
TikTok ranks seventh in the government restrictions list with 1B monthly active users worldwide. The short-form video platform faces complete prohibition in India and partial restrictions in Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Indonesia. TikTok makes around $120B in revenue every year, with $16 billion attributed to its 170M US users.
Twitter (X) lands in eighth position, registering 335.7M monthly users globally. The platform is currently banned in six countries: China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Turkmenistan. X posts $3.4B in annual revenue, with half of it being generated through its 76M US users.
Baidu is in ninth place with 667M monthly users. The so-called “Chinese Google” is only restricted in India. Baidu reports $14.57B in annual earnings, drawing most of its users from China while counting just 7.5M in the US.
Spotify completes the top ten of widely restricted popular apps. The music streaming platform counts 602M monthly active users worldwide, while facing bans in several countries, including China, Ethiopia, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Cuba, and Venezuela. Despite being restricted by the largest number of countries, Spotify shows $13.2B in global annual revenue.
