TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin have been downloaded more than two billion times globally on the App Store and Google Play, according to new data released by Sensor Tower, underlining the popularity of the short video platform in the face of the global health crisis and growing scrutiny from Washington.

The new milestone comes just five months after TikTok surpassed 1.5 billion downloads, according to data provider Sensor Tower. India is the biggest growth driver followed by China, with 611 million and 196.6 million downloads respectively. The US, where TikTok has come under political fire over privacy and national security concerns, is the third biggest market with 165 million installs.

“TikTok’s latest surge comes amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen consumers drawn to their mobile devices more than ever as they look for new ways to shop, work, and connect with others,” Sensor Tower wrote in the report. “The continuous rise of TikTok gives it an ever-bigger foundation to not only enjoy success for the short-term, but build for the long-term to keep competitors, both existing and emerging at bay.”

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is one of the very first Chinese apps to achieve massive success in overseas markets. The health crisis has also seen more people take to online entertainment amid lockdowns and social distancing. Tencent Holdings-backed Kuaishou Technology, recently released a new short video app Snack Video targeting users outside China, ratcheting up competition in the sector.

TikTok’s continued popularity shows that US investigations into data and privacy issues may become a sideshow.

“I don't think it [US action] hurts them dramatically,” Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group, said earlier this month. “If you're 18 or 16 years old, you don't really know or care if the company is owned by an American firm or a Chinese one. And I'm not sure that younger Americans trust Mark Zuckerberg any more than they trust TikTok.”

ByteDance has said it stores all TikTok data outside China and that the Chinese government has no access. Alex Zhu, chief executive of TikTok, said in an interview with The New York Times in November that he would not take down a video or hand over user data even if this was at the personal request of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

 - SCMP