In-app revenue for global short video hit TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin ranked first among non-gaming apps globally in the third quarter, according to new data released by research firm Sensor Tower, indicating strong growth in the face of geopolitical headwinds in the US and India.

User spending on the app grew 800% in the three-month period compared to the same quarter in 2019, beating YouTube and Tinder into second and third place respectively, according to Sensor Tower. This was the second consecutive quarter that TikTok was the top-grossing non-game app.

Douyin - which is only available in China - was still the main contributor to revenue. In August, about 85% of total app revenue came from Douyin, followed by 7.8% from the US and 1.4% from Turkey, according to a separate report from Sensor Tower.

TikTok, which was banned by India in June along with other Chinese apps after a deadly border clash, has been forced to divest its US operations to continue doing business there after the Trump administration accused it of being a national security threat. TikTok has denied these charges but has worked on a deal with Oracle Corp to safeguard its US business.

In the latest US development, a US federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s ban on TikTok, because the move likely overstepped the president’s legal authority by blocking an information channel, according to the ruling.

TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is racing to get a green light from both Beijing and Washington for the deal with Oracle, although both US President Donald Trump and Chinese state media have expressed reservations about likely approval.

ByteDance is working with US regulators to resolve outstanding security concerns over its planned sale of a stake in TikTok, and the companies involved are bracing for the approval process to drag on past the November election, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

 - SCMP