Most Popular Internet Services 2025 | Global & US Statistics

Internet Services and Rankings 2025

The digital landscape of 2025 has witnessed remarkable transformations in how people worldwide access and interact with online services. According to Cloudflare’s comprehensive Year in Review report published in December 2025, global internet traffic has surged by 19% year-over-year, reflecting an unprecedented dependence on technology for communication, entertainment, work, and daily tasks. This growth represents a significant acceleration compared to the 17% growth observed in 2024, signaling that digital adoption continues to expand at an increasing pace across all demographics and regions.

The most popular internet services in 2025 showcase both continuity and dramatic shifts in user behavior. While tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple maintain their dominance at the top of rankings, the explosive rise of generative artificial intelligence platforms represents the year’s defining technological story. ChatGPT has climbed into the global Top 40 most visited services, a stunning achievement for a platform that didn’t exist three years ago. Meanwhile, social media platforms continue their evolution, with Instagram overtaking TikTok for the second spot among social networks, and TikTok itself experiencing challenges from legal uncertainties in the United States. This article examines verified statistics from Cloudflare’s DNS resolver data, representing millions of users globally, alongside confirmed usage figures from major technology companies.

Interesting Facts About Internet Services in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; CBS News; OpenAI Research; Business Wire

The data reveals several striking trends that define the internet landscape in 2025. The 19% traffic growth represents billions of additional connections, downloads, and interactions across the globe, with particularly dramatic increases in developing regions like Botswana, where traffic surged nearly 300% year-over-year. The rise of ChatGPT to 700 million weekly active users – representing approximately 10% of the global adult population – marks one of the fastest technology adoptions in history, surpassing even the early growth rates of social media giants.

The dramatic fall of TikTok from the #4 spot to #8 reflects the impact of ongoing legal challenges in the United States, where temporary bans and uncertainty about the platform’s future have significantly affected usage patterns. Meanwhile, Instagram’s ascension to #2 among social platforms demonstrates Meta’s successful strategy of competing with TikTok through features like Reels. The encryption milestone is equally significant: 52% of human traffic now benefits from post-quantum cryptographic protection, preparing the internet infrastructure for future quantum computing threats. Perhaps most surprising is that 73% of ChatGPT usage is now non-work-related, challenging assumptions that AI would primarily serve as a productivity tool and instead revealing its role as an everyday advisor for personal decisions, learning, and creative expression.

Top Overall Internet Services in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; Cloudflare Blog Post December 2025

Google maintains its dominance as the world’s most popular internet service for the fourth consecutive year, encompassing not just search but the entire ecosystem of Google services including Maps, Calendar, Drive, Gmail, and more. The tech giant’s position reflects its deep integration into both personal and professional digital life, serving as the default gateway to information for billions of users worldwide. Facebook’s second-place position, also held for four straight years, demonstrates the continued strength of Meta’s flagship social network despite competition from newer platforms and shifting demographics toward younger users who increasingly favor Instagram and TikTok.

The most significant movement in the top 10 internet services involves TikTok’s four-position drop from #4 to #8, a decline Cloudflare explicitly attributes to the “temporary legal ban in the U.S. hurting its performance in 2025.” The United States represented TikTok’s largest market, and uncertainty surrounding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act – which set multiple deadlines for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a nationwide ban – has materially impacted user confidence and growth. President Trump issued multiple executive orders throughout 2025 extending enforcement deadlines, creating a state of ongoing uncertainty. Microsoft, Instagram, and YouTube all climbed higher in rankings, with Instagram’s rise particularly notable as it successfully competed for short-form video attention. Amazon Web Services dropped one spot despite continued growth in cloud computing, likely due to faster expansion by competitors in the rankings above it.

Top Social Media Platforms in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; Pew Research; The Australian Jewish News

Facebook remains the undisputed king of social media globally, despite ongoing concerns about its aging user base in developed markets. Over 70% of U.S. adults report using Facebook according to recent Pew Research data, making it the most widely adopted social platform in America, even ranking second only to YouTube when video platforms are included in social media definitions. The platform’s strength lies in its broad demographic appeal, extensive features including Marketplace and Groups, and its role as the digital gathering place for families, local communities, and organizations worldwide.

The battle for second place between Instagram and TikTok represents one of 2025’s most significant social media storylines. Instagram and TikTok swapped positions starting in May, with Instagram securing an uncontested #2 spot from late June onward through year’s end. This shift reflects Meta’s successful strategy of copying TikTok’s most popular features through Instagram Reels while leveraging Instagram’s established user base and cross-promotion with Facebook. X’s continued downward trajectory stands out as particularly dramatic: the platform ranked as high as #10 in 2022, close to Instagram’s performance at that time, but fell out of the Top 10 in 2023, dropped to around #14-15 in 2024, began 2025 at #15, and ended the year outside the Top 20. This decline reflects user exodus following Elon Musk’s acquisition and controversial platform changes, advertiser flight, and increased competition from Threads (Meta’s Twitter alternative) and Bluesky. Kwai’s presence at #7 represents the “quiet rise” of this Latin American and Asian-focused short video platform, gaining meaningful traction outside Western markets where TikTok and Instagram dominate mindshare.

Top Generative AI Services in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; National Bureau of Economic Research; OpenAI

ChatGPT’s dominance in the generative AI category remains uncontested, with the platform reaching 700 million weekly active users as of September 2025 and climbing to #33 in the overall internet rankings by November 25, making it one of the most-visited destinations on the internet. The service launched in November 2022 and initially hovered around #200 in early 2023, approached the Top 100 by year-end 2023, neared the Top 50 in late 2024, and entered the #51-60 range to start 2025 before its steady ascent continued. ChatGPT consistently ranks higher on weekdays, suggesting strong adoption in workplace and educational settings despite the majority of usage being non-work-related.

However, ChatGPT now faces serious all-purpose chatbot competitors that have emerged throughout 2025. Claude (ranked #2) was barely inside the Top 500 in January 2025 but reached #155 on December 2 and maintained a Top 200 position from August onward, demonstrating Anthropic’s successful product development and marketing. Perplexity experienced explosive growth, surging from around #450 in early 2025 to peak at #155 on October 19, hovering near #160 in November. The platform’s AI-powered search functionality, which combines chatbot capabilities with real-time web search and source citations, has resonated with users seeking more than conversational AI. Most notably, Google Gemini entered the Top 500 in mid-March and rapidly climbed to #133 on November 24, briefly securing the #2 spot in GenAI rankings by late November, directly contesting ChatGPT’s lead. This represents Google’s most competitive AI product launch, integrating Gemini across its ecosystem including Search, Gmail, and Docs. The contest for second place is highly regional: Gemini leads in emerging markets, Perplexity dominates across Europe, and Claude prevails in technologically advanced economies like the United States and Canada.

Top E-Commerce Services in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; CBS News

Amazon maintains its position as the world’s most popular e-commerce destination, though its dominance faces increasing challenges from Asian platforms that offer lower prices through direct-from-manufacturer models. The company’s vast product selection, Prime membership benefits including fast shipping and streaming services, and trusted fulfillment infrastructure keep it at the top despite growing competition. Amazon’s marketplace model, which allows third-party sellers alongside Amazon’s own inventory, creates unmatched product variety.

The most notable change in e-commerce rankings is the prominence of two Asia-based companies in the top three positions. Shopee landing at #2 represents remarkable growth for the Singapore-launched platform that began operations in 2015. Shopee has become the dominant e-commerce player across Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore) and has successfully expanded into Latin America, particularly Brazil. The platform combines marketplace functionality with social features, gamification, and aggressive promotional campaigns. Temu ranking at #3 reflects the Chinese company’s explosive 2024-2025 expansion into Western markets, particularly the United States and Europe. Owned by PDD Holdings (which also operates Pinduoduo in China), Temu leverages direct relationships with Chinese manufacturers to offer extraordinarily low prices, often undercutting Amazon and other established players by 30-50% on comparable products. The platform has invested billions in marketing, including multiple Super Bowl commercials, to build brand recognition. Shein at #8 continues dominating fast fashion e-commerce, offering trendy clothing at ultra-low prices with new items added daily, appealing particularly to Gen Z consumers despite ongoing concerns about labor practices and environmental impact.

ChatGPT Usage Patterns in 2025

Data Source: OpenAI Research September 2025; National Bureau of Economic Research; Harvard Economist David Deming

The comprehensive study of ChatGPT usage, released by OpenAI in September 2025 and conducted with Harvard economist David Deming, represents the largest analysis of consumer AI use ever published, drawing on 1.5 million conversations across ChatGPT’s consumer base. The research reveals that three-quarters of conversations focus on practical guidance, seeking information, and writing, collectively accounting for nearly 80% of all use cases. These categories have remained relatively stable throughout 2025, though their specific applications have evolved as users discover new ways to leverage the technology.

The shift from work to non-work usage represents one of the study’s most surprising findings. In mid-2024, approximately 53% of messages were classified as non-work-related. By mid-2025, that figure had climbed dramatically to 73%, meaning the vast majority of the daily 2.5 billion interactions involve personal advice, entertainment, learning, and general information rather than direct employment tasks. This challenges the conventional wisdom that AI’s primary economic value lies in workplace productivity gains. The “Asking” category – seeking information or advice – grew from 49% to 51.6% by June 2025, while “Doing” (task-oriented activities) declined from 40% to 34.6%. Notably, “Asking” messages consistently receive higher user satisfaction ratings than “Doing” messages, suggesting users find greater value in ChatGPT as a thought partner and advisor than as a task executor. The 1.9% of conversations related to relationships and personal reflection may seem small, but with an estimated 18 billion weekly conversations, this represents approximately 342 million conversations per week where people turn to AI for emotional support and companionship, highlighting an emerging but potentially concerning dimension of AI adoption.

ChatGPT Demographics and Global Reach in 2025

Data Source: OpenAI September 2025 Study; NBER Working Paper; APA Healthcare Innovation

The demographic evolution of ChatGPT users tells a powerful story of technology democratization. When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, early adopters were overwhelmingly male – about 80% of active accounts in the first months were tied to typically masculine names, reflecting the technology’s initial appeal to tech enthusiasts, developers, and early adopters who skew male. However, by mid-2025, that gender gap had completely closed, with the proportion dropping to 48% male and rising to 52% female – meaning slightly more users now have typically feminine names. This gender parity marks a crucial milestone in AI adoption, indicating ChatGPT has transcended its initial niche audience to become a mainstream tool used across all demographics.

The age distribution reveals a youthful user base, with nearly half of all messages (46%) sent by adults under 26, though usage has broadened across age groups over time. This suggests an entire generation is growing up with AI assistance as a default part of their educational and personal development experience, with potentially profound implications for cognitive development, problem-solving approaches, and information literacy. Geographic growth has been strongest in low and middle-income countries, particularly those with GDP per capita between $10,000 and $40,000. By May 2025, ChatGPT adoption growth rates in the lowest income countries were over 4 times those in the highest income countries. The researchers note that in these markets, ChatGPT is rapidly becoming a default digital tool, leapfrogging other forms of search and productivity software in a phenomenon similar to how mobile phones bypassed landline infrastructure in developing nations. Countries like India, Brazil, Indonesia, and across Africa are experiencing particularly rapid adoption. Educational and occupational patterns significantly shape usage, with users holding Bachelor’s or graduate degrees substantially more likely to use ChatGPT for work tasks, while those with lower educational attainment use it more heavily for personal guidance, learning, and everyday questions.

Internet Traffic Growth and Regional Trends in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; Advanced Television; Business Wire

The 19% global internet traffic increase in 2025 significantly exceeds the 17% growth observed in 2024, indicating that rather than plateauing as markets mature, internet adoption and usage intensity continues accelerating worldwide. This growth represents billions of additional connections, terabytes of data transfer, and countless new users coming online for the first time or existing users consuming more bandwidth through video streaming, video calls, gaming, and other high-bandwidth applications. Regional variations in growth rates reveal where digital transformation is occurring most rapidly.

Botswana’s stunning 300% traffic increase represents the highest national growth rate tracked by Cloudflare in 2025. This explosion reflects multiple factors including government investments in broadband infrastructure, declining device costs making smartphones accessible to more citizens, and the expansion of mobile networks reaching previously unconnected rural areas. The country’s progress demonstrates how quickly internet adoption can accelerate once foundational infrastructure reaches critical mass. Conversely, Tanzania experienced government-ordered shutdowns during election periods, with authorities deliberately cutting internet access to control information flow and limit opposition organizing – a troubling reminder that internet access remains subject to political control in many nations. Jamaica faced Hurricane Melissa-related outages, highlighting infrastructure vulnerability to natural disasters, particularly in Caribbean nations susceptible to tropical storms that can destroy cell towers and fiber-optic cables. SpaceX’s Starlink played an outsized role in global traffic expansion, with volume more than doubling during 2025. The satellite internet service expanded into more than 20 newly connected countries, bringing connectivity to remote islands, rural areas, and developing regions where traditional infrastructure deployment proves economically challenging. Starlink’s growth reflects increasing importance of alternative connectivity solutions as demand outpaces terrestrial infrastructure expansion.

Security and Encryption Trends in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; BetaNews; SiliconANGLE; Help Net Security

The post-quantum encryption adoption rate of 52% by early December 2025 represents one of the year’s most significant security milestones, growing from just 29% at the beginning of the year. Post-quantum cryptography is designed to secure data against future threats from quantum computers, which could theoretically break current encryption standards once they achieve sufficient computational power. The rapid adoption reflects forward-thinking security practices and concerns about “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks where adversaries collect encrypted data today with the intention of decrypting it years or decades in the future when quantum computers become capable. Major technology companies including Google, Cloudflare, and Apple have prioritized post-quantum encryption implementation across their services.

The 6.2% of global traffic that required mitigation during 2025 represents a massive volume of malicious activity when considered against total internet traffic. This mitigation includes 3.3% blocked as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks or flagged by web application firewall rules, with the remainder representing various other threats including malware, phishing attempts, credential stuffing, and exploitation attempts. Hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks grew significantly, including a major July 2025 campaign that heavily skewed global mitigation charts with unprecedented attack volumes targeting specific services and infrastructure. For the first time, nonprofits, civic groups, and religious organizations ranked as the most frequently attacked sectors, likely due to the sensitive nature and potential financial value of their user data, combined with often-limited security budgets compared to corporations. AI crawler blocking emerged as a contentious issue, with AI crawler user agents like GPTBot and ClaudeBot among the most frequently blocked in robots.txt files during 2025. Website operators increasingly restrict AI bots amid concerns about content being used for training without compensation, increased server load without corresponding referral traffic benefits, and potential copyright issues. Search crawlers like Googlebot and Bingbot were more commonly restricted on specific paths rather than across entire sites, suggesting webmasters maintain selective approaches balancing search visibility against AI training concerns.

Browser and Search Engine Market Share in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review; Quarterly Reports

Chrome maintains its dominant position in the browser market across both desktop and mobile platforms, though Safari holds strong on iOS devices where Apple’s ecosystem advantages create natural lock-in. Cloudflare’s unique position protecting and accelerating millions of websites provides comprehensive browser market share data through analysis of user agent strings. The browser landscape has remained relatively stable in 2025, with Chrome’s share reflecting Google’s broader ecosystem dominance – users who rely on Google Search, Gmail, Drive, and other services naturally gravitate toward Chrome for seamless integration and synchronization.

Google Search’s overwhelming dominance extends beyond traditional search into AI-powered features. Google AI Overviews – which summarize search results using generative AI – now reaches approximately 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries according to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during quarterly earnings calls. This massive adoption makes AI Overviews one of the most widely used AI features globally, far exceeding standalone AI chatbots. However, AI Overviews has generated controversy among publishers and content creators who worry that providing AI-generated summaries directly in search results reduces click-through rates to original sources, potentially devastating websites that depend on Google referral traffic for advertising revenue. The Gemini App achieving 450+ million monthly active users demonstrates Google’s strong position in standalone AI assistants as well, though this remains significantly below ChatGPT’s 700 million weekly active users. In API development, Go (Golang) remained at the top with 20% of automated API requests made by Go-based clients, reflecting the language’s popularity for building scalable backend services and its strong performance characteristics for network applications.

Messaging and Communication Services in 2025

Data Source: Cloudflare Rankings; Company Reports

WhatsApp’s position at #10 overall underrepresents its true global impact, as the service dominates messaging in virtually every market outside the United States and China. With over 2 billion monthly active users globally, WhatsApp serves as the primary communication tool for families, businesses, and communities across Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. The platform’s end-to-end encryption by default, simple interface, and reliability across varying network conditions have made it indispensable in developing markets where it often serves as the primary internet application. Meta has gradually added features including WhatsApp Business for small companies, payment capabilities in select markets, and Status updates (similar to Instagram Stories), transforming it from a simple messaging app into a comprehensive communication platform.

Discord’s rise to #8 among social platforms reflects its evolution beyond gaming communities into a general-purpose communication platform. Originally designed for gamers to coordinate during multiplayer sessions, Discord has expanded to serve study groups, hobbyist communities, professional organizations, and even entire school districts and universities. Its combination of persistent text channels, voice chat rooms, and video capabilities creates a unique middle ground between traditional social media and messaging apps. Microsoft Teams and Slack dominate enterprise communication, with Teams benefiting from bundling with Office 365 subscriptions, while Slack maintains strong loyalty among technology companies and startups. Zoom’s sustained relevance post-pandemic demonstrates that video conferencing has become permanently embedded in work and personal life, with the platform hosting millions of daily meetings for remote workers, distributed teams, and virtual social gatherings.

United States Internet and Social Media Statistics 2025

Data Source: Pew Research Center 2025; DataReportal Digital 2025 USA; DemandSage; Elon University Survey

The United States leads globally in internet penetration with 93.1% of the population online as of January 2025, representing 322 million internet users. This compares favorably to the global average of approximately 66% internet penetration, positioning the US among the most connected nations worldwide. The 253 million social media users represent 73% of the total population and 78.5% of internet users, demonstrating that once Americans get online, the vast majority engage with social platforms. The US experienced a 6.32% surge in social media users between July and October 2024, jumping from 238 million to 253 million users, before stabilizing through early 2025.

The platform preferences in the United States differ significantly from global patterns. While YouTube leads at 84% usage among US adults – making it the most widely used platform in America – globally it ranks third behind Facebook and Instagram. Facebook’s 71% usage in the US remains strong despite concerns about declining relevance among younger demographics, with the platform particularly dominant among Americans aged 25-64. Notably, TikTok usage at only 37% in the US trails significantly behind its global prominence, directly reflecting ongoing legal uncertainties and temporary ban threats throughout 2025. WhatsApp usage at just 32% represents a stark contrast to its global dominance (third-most-used platform worldwide), as Americans prefer SMS texting and Apple’s iMessage over the Meta-owned messaging app. Americans spend an average of 2 hours and 9 minutes daily on social media, approximately 12 minutes less than the global average of 2 hours 21 minutes, suggesting somewhat more restrained social media consumption despite high platform adoption rates.

United States AI and ChatGPT Adoption in 2025

Data Source: Pew Research Center June 2025; Elon University Digital Future Center; DemandSage ChatGPT Statistics

The United States accounts for 19.01% of all global ChatGPT users, making it the largest national market by a significant margin. India follows at 7.86%, Brazil at 5.05%, Canada at 3.57%, and the United Kingdom at 3.48%, meaning the United States has more than double the users of the second-largest market. The 77.2 million monthly active users in the US translates to 34% of American adults having used ChatGPT as of mid-2025, a dramatic increase from just 18% in summer 2023, representing a near-doubling of adoption in under two years. This makes ChatGPT one of the fastest-adopted technologies in American history.

The generational divide in ChatGPT usage remains stark and significant. 58% of adults under 30 have used ChatGPT, making young adults by far the most active demographic. This drops to 41% for ages 30-49, 24% for ages 50-64, and just 6% for those 65 and older. This 52-percentage-point gap between youngest and oldest users represents one of the largest age-based technology adoption gaps ever measured. Education level strongly predicts ChatGPT usage, with 51-52% of those holding Bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees having used it, compared to 33% with some college and only 18% with high school education or less. Perhaps most significantly, 52% of US adults now use some form of AI large language model (including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and others), making LLMs “one of the fastest – if not the fastest – adopted technologies in history” according to Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center. Among those who use LLMs, 34% use them at least once daily, including 10% who use them “almost constantly”, demonstrating that for many Americans, AI has become an essential daily tool rather than an occasional novelty.

United States Social Media Platform Usage Details 2025

Data Source: Pew Research Center Americans’ Social Media Use 2025; Sprinklr 2025; The Global Statistics

YouTube’s 84% usage among US adults makes it America’s most universal online platform, with particularly strong adoption among 93% of adults aged 18-29. The platform serves multiple functions – entertainment, education, music streaming, and news consumption – making it difficult to categorize solely as “social media.” Americans spend an average of 26.21 hours monthly on the YouTube mobile app and 48.7 minutes daily on the platform overall, making it second only to TikTok in time commitment. About 50% of US adults visit YouTube daily, matching Facebook’s daily engagement rate.

Facebook’s 71% usage translates to approximately 194.1 million US users, with particularly strong performance among older demographics – 72% of those aged 50-64 use Facebook compared to 65% of those 18-29. The platform shows remarkable stickiness: 50% of US adults visit Facebook daily, and users access it an average of 8 times per day, spending 17 hours and 20 minutes monthly on the service. 72.4% of users rely on Facebook to connect with loved ones, while 58.2% use it for news and local events, demonstrating its continued role as a digital town square despite competition from newer platforms. TikTok’s 37% usage among US adults represents 170 million users, a dramatic increase from 21% usage in 2021. The platform dominates time spent, with American users averaging 43 hours and 53 minutes monthly – nearly double YouTube’s engagement time. Notably, 55% of TikTok users regularly get news on the platform, up from just 22% in 2020, showing its evolution from pure entertainment to an information source. However, ongoing legal challenges create uncertainty about TikTok’s US future, with the platform facing potential bans under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.

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