India is a country of extremes in mobile app usage. It continues to lead the world in total app downloads, yet it does not rank among the top twenty markets for consumer spending. This insight comes from a new report by market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
India’s app downloads grew year-on-year in 2025, making it one of only two top-ten markets to see such growth, alongside Pakistan. This followed a decline in 2024, when downloads fell to 24.6 billion from 25.9 billion in 2023. The market bounced back strongly in 2025, reaching 25.5 billion downloads.
User engagement also increased significantly. Time spent in apps rose from 1.13 trillion hours in 2024 to 1.23 trillion hours in 2025, fueled by the popularity of AI and microdrama apps.
The categories of apps seeing growth shifted noticeably. While social media, social messenger, and security apps declined, several other categories surged. AI assistants, microdrama apps, video editing tools, social discovery platforms, and food and delivery apps all saw substantial growth. The rise in food and delivery apps is largely attributed to the expansion of ultra-fast grocery delivery services.
Short drama app downloads grew by over 350 million in India. AI assistant downloads grew by 346 million, mirroring a global trend. Downloads of generative AI apps jumped from 198 million times in 2024 to 602 million in 2025. This explosive growth was driven by two main factors. First, major companies released new image models, creating exponential demand for AI assistants. Second, many AI companies began offering their premium plans for free to Indian users to gain market share.
In the generative AI space, ChatGPT was the top app by downloads, followed by Google Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok. OpenAI’s assistant also ranked highly in overall downloads, just behind Instagram.
Microdrama was another major growth category globally and in India. Apps like Kuku TV, Story TV, QuickTV, and DashReels ranked highly in the video streaming category. Kuku TV also achieved the fourth rank globally. Industry experts predict India’s microdrama market could reach tens of billions of dollars by 2030. A key indicator of the category’s rise came after the third quarter of 2025, when users in India downloaded more short drama apps than major OTT streaming apps like Netflix and JioHotstar.
Finally, the domestic app industry in India is gaining ground. The share of downloads from local developers increased from 33.91% to 36.52%. However, this rise may be driven by apps for quick commerce, government services, and finance rather than entertainment, as the revenue share from in-app purchases for domestic publishers remained flat.