Technology

Google is no longer the world’s most popular website

By Joshua Shin

December 28, 2021 5:38pm

Updated: December 29, 2021 8:39am

Google was knocked off its perch as the world’s most popular website this year.

The search engine and tech giant was dethroned by TikTok as the No. 1 destination for audiences online in 2021, according to cybersecurity company Cloudflare’s Year in Review report.

TikTok was No. 7 in 2020 when Google was No. 1, meaning it jumped six spots in one year. The social networking video site hit a new record this September, reporting one billion monthly active users.

TikTok overtook Facebook as the most visited social media website, even though it has fewer total users.

The Cloudflare report included other surprises, like how Netflix retained its No. 1 position on the list of video streaming websites even though YouTube was added this year. This is notable as Netflix requires a subscription, whereas YouTube is free to the public.

WhatsApp remained the most used messaging app this year, but Signal rose over 1,000 places on the overall list, from #1815 to #766, after changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy.

See the lists below:

Top 10 — Most popular domains (late) 2021