(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) A recent study by Linkee has revealed that Facebook, with 3.05 billion monthly users, is the most popular app currently banned in several countries, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Despite these restrictions, the social media giant continues to thrive worldwide, generating over $130 billion in revenue last year.

The study analyzed data from Statista on global and US user numbers and revenue, as well as Google search trends in the US, and ranked the most popular apps that are banned in different countries. The final ranking was determined based on the number of monthly users each app attracts.

After Facebook, WhatsApp is second with 3.03 billion monthly users. The messaging platform is also banned in China and North Korea, as well as Syria, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Although it has fewer users in the US – 98 million compared to Facebook – WhatsApp is more frequently searched online with over 5 million monthly searches.

YouTube ranks third worldwide with 2.7 billion monthly users. The video-sharing platform, which is banned in North Korea and subject to partial restrictions in countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia and Germany, is the most searched app for downloads on the Internet with over 10 million searches per month.

Instagram ranks fourth with 2 billion monthly users. The platform generated $60.3 billion in revenue last year, $45 billion of which came from U.S. users. Instagram is banned in Vietnam, North Korea, China, and Turkey.

Google, despite its widespread use, is also on the list, coming in fifth place with 1.5 billion monthly users. The search engine, which generated $305 billion in revenue last year, is only banned in China.

In sixth place is WeChat with 1.3 billion monthly users. The messaging app, which is partially banned in India and in Canada, the UK and New Zealand, continues to generate significant revenue, especially in China.

TikTok, which may soon be banned in the US, ranks seventh with 1 billion monthly users, 170 million of whom are in the United States. The app is already banned in India and is subject to restrictions in countries such as Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan and Indonesia.

Spotify ranks eighth with 602 million monthly users. The music streaming service is banned in countries such as China, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Venezuela. After YouTube and Instagram, it is the third most searched app on the internet.

Twitter (X) ranks ninth with 335 million monthly users. The platform is banned in China, Russia and Turkmenistan and still earned $1.75 billion in 2023 despite its lower user base.

Rounding out the top ten is PUBG Mobile, the only game on the list with 30 million monthly users. The game, which generated $1.1 billion in revenue last year, is banned in India and has been temporarily banned in Nepal, Pakistan and China.

As the global landscape of digital access continues to evolve, these rankings underscore the continued popularity and economic impact of these apps, even as they contend with complex regulations in different countries.

Here’s a look at the most banned apps around the world:

App type Monthly users US users Total users Total sales 2023 Sales USA 2023 US searches Prohibited in on facebook. Social Media 3.05 billion 175 million 134.9 billion US dollars 61.2 billion US dollars 3.02 million China, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uganda WhatsApp Messaging app 3.03 billion 98 million 1.24 billion US dollars 40 million USD 5.39 million China, North Korea, Syria, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates Youtube Video sharing 2.7 billion 239 million 31.5 billion US dollars 18 billion dollars 10.3 million North Korea, partial ban in Germany, China, North Korea, Thailand, Malaysia For the above-mentioned service, BIKE24 uses the technical platform of Instagram (Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Social Media 2B 133.5 million 50.58 billion US dollars 60.3 billion US dollars 6.78 million China, Vietnam, North Korea, Türkiye Google Search engine 1.5 billion 276 million 305.6 billion US dollars 256 billion US dollars 1.2 million China WeChat Messaging app 1.3 billion 4M 16.4 billion US dollars USD 71.4 million 45.6 thousand India, partial ban in Canada, UK, New Zealand (government devices) TikTok Social Media 1B 170 million 2.05 billion 120 billion US dollars 16 billion dollars 3.76 million India, partial bans in Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, Indonesia Þjórsárdalur Social Media 335.7 million 76 million 3.4 billion dollars 1.75 billion US dollars 6.1 million China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Turkmenistan baidu Browser 667M 7.5 million 14.57 billion US dollars 164 million 2.5 thousand India Spotify Music service 602M 100 million 13.2 billion US dollars 1.43 billion US dollars 2.2 million

China, Ethiopia, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Cuba and Venezuela