Douyin surpasses WeChat for the first time to become China's top app by user time spent, while ByteDance continues to widen its mobile internet traffic lead

Overview

Using QuestMobile data, the report tracks daily active users, time spent per user, and total time spent for major Chinese mobile applications in July 2026. Its core conclusion is that China's total mobile user base remained stable and time spent continued to grow, but traffic became further concentrated within ByteDance; short dramas rapidly displaced some traditional content consumption, while the focus of AI competition shifted from chatbots to office agents.

Core views

In July 2026, China's monthly active smartphone users increased 1.3% YoY to 1.28 billion and remained broadly stable over recent months; total monthly time spent across the market rose 8.8% YoY, above the 8.6% growth previously cited in the report. Limited growth in the user base alongside continued rapid growth in total time spent means that platform competition remains focused on capturing the attention of existing users. Douyin surpassed WeChat in monthly time spent for the first time. Its total time spent increased 29% YoY, driven jointly by 19% growth in DAUs and an 8% increase in average daily time spent per DAU; Douyin's time-spent share reached 19.4%, up 3.0 percentage points YoY and 0.4 percentage points MoM. WeChat's total time spent grew only 3%, mainly due to 3% DAU growth, while its time-spent share was 18.8%, down 1.1 percentage points YoY and 0.5 percentage points MoM. Nevertheless, WeChat remained the largest app by user base with 931 million DAUs, well above Douyin's 714 million. ByteDance's advantage comes not only from Douyin but from a portfolio spanning multiple content categories. Among China's top 20 apps by time spent, ByteDance had five products—Douyin, Douyin Lite, Hongguo Short Drama, Toutiao, and Tomato Free Novel—which together accounted for 35%; Tencent had four apps with a combined share of 24%. Among the top 50 apps, which cover approximately 93% of mobile time spent in China, ByteDance's ecosystem share rose from 33.6% in July 2025 to 40.9% in July 2026, increasing another 0.8 percentage points MoM and exceeding Tencent's 29.1%. The report believes ByteDance has adapted to changes in user preferences over the past decade, expanding its content portfolio from news into short-form video, free novels, music, and short dramas, and has achieved leadership in most content categories. The exceptions are online games, led by Tencent and NetEase, and professional user-generated video, led by Bilibili. Within ByteDance, user time is shifting from slowing products to newer ones. Tomato Free Novel recorded 144 million DAUs in July, up 6% YoY, below June's 8%. The report believes this may indicate that user growth is approaching its ceiling after years of rapid expansion, while AI animated dramas are also competing for user time. By contrast, Hongguo Short Drama reached 168 million DAUs, exceeding the combined DAUs of the four major long-form video apps—Tencent Video, Youku, Mango TV, and iQIYI—after growing 8% MoM and 107% YoY. Its total time spent increased 157%, supported by 107% DAU growth and a 24% increase in average daily time spent per user. Hongguo's AI animated dramas also saw DAUs rise 37% MoM to 16 million. Based on this, the report believes ByteDance may operate its entire app portfolio in a coordinated manner, migrating users and their time to other products when an individual product slows. The divergence between long-form video and short dramas was pronounced. Although iQIYI still had the highest total time spent among long-form video apps, its total time spent declined 27% YoY in July, including a 20% decline in DAUs. Total time spent on Tencent Video, Youku, and Mango TV fell 31%, 47%, and 24%, respectively, while their DAUs declined 11%, 34%, and 15%. In short-form video, Douyin remained strong; Bilibili's total time spent rose 8%, driven by 6% DAU growth and a 2% increase in time spent per user; Kuaishou's total time spent fell 15%, mainly dragged down by a 13% decline in time spent per user. Most mature content categories, including online reading, live streaming, and music, were under pressure. Tomato Free Novel's total time spent still increased 8%, but Qimao Free Novel's total time spent declined 43%, with DAUs and time spent per user falling 27% and 23%, respectively. DAUs for China Literature's Qidian Reading and QQ Reading declined 9% and 6%, respectively, while time spent per user fell 12% and 11%. In entertainment live streaming, Momo's total time spent declined 11%, outperforming YY's 15% decline. In game live streaming, Huya's total time spent was 1.5 times that of DouYu, but the two declined 18% and 9%, respectively. Among music apps, DAUs for ByteDance's Soda Music and Tomato Music increased 70% and 37%, respectively; NetEase Cloud Music was flat, while DAUs for Tencent Music's QQ Music, Kugou Music, and Kuwo Music declined 5%, 15%, and 15%, respectively. WeSing's total time spent declined 21% and DAUs fell 32%, despite a 16% increase in time spent per user. Performance among social applications was mixed. Xiaohongshu's total time spent increased 5% and DAUs grew 6%; the report believes its acquisition of exclusive online broadcasting rights in China for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a contributing factor. Weibo's total time spent declined 7%, caused jointly by a 3% decline in DAUs and a 4% decline in time spent per user. Within Tencent's ecosystem, QQ's total time spent declined 4%, while WeChat's increased 3%. Rapid user acquisition by AI chatbots began to cool, with internet giants shifting their focus toward AI office agents. Doubao had 168 million DAUs in July, approximately 3.6 times the level a year earlier, and remained the leading AI application, but was flat MoM, ending its consecutive growth since August 2025. It was followed by Quark Browser with 33 million DAUs, DeepSeek with 31 million, and Qwen with 28 million, down 2%, 5%, and 4% MoM, respectively; Qwen grew approximately 90-fold YoY. In average daily time spent per user, Quark recorded 32 minutes, DeepSeek 16.5 minutes, and Kimi 12.5 minutes. Competition among office agents centers on enterprise workflows. Alibaba integrated QoderWork, MuleRun, and Wukong into QwenWork, seeking to convert enterprise workflows within DingTalk into model and cloud-service consumption. Tencent promoted its general-purpose office agent WorkBuddy and gradually connected it with WeChat, WeCom, Tencent Docs, and Tencent Meeting. ByteDance integrated the Feishu product team with Doubao, merged the Feishu sales team with Volcano Engine, and launched Doubao Workbench on August 25. The report emphasizes that these products differ from traditional office software because foundation models enable them to autonomously complete tasks across applications. Among traditional office applications, DingTalk remained first with 77 million DAUs, although this was down 1% YoY; WeCom's DAUs grew 9% to 72 million, continuing to narrow the gap; Feishu grew 51% from a smaller base to 10 million. Average daily time spent per user for Feishu, WeCom, and DingTalk was 14.8, 12.4, and 9.9 minutes, respectively, representing YoY changes of down 1%, flat, and down 5%. Most other application categories showed pressure on users or time spent. Baidu App's total time spent declined 23%, while DAUs fell 21%. In online travel, total time spent on Trip.com, Qunar, and Fliggy declined 16%, 8%, and 5%, respectively, while DAUs declined 9%, 6%, and 3%. In e-commerce, Pinduoduo's DAUs grew 5%, including 19% growth among light users spending less than 1 minute and 2% growth among heavy users spending more than 1 minute. Taobao's DAUs declined 8%, with an 11% drop in heavy users only partly offset by 3% growth in light users. JD.com's DAUs grew 1%, with light users increasing 28% but heavy users declining 7%. Pinduoduo's time spent per user increased 5%, while Taobao and JD.com declined 1% and 4%, respectively. Local services and map applications were also weak. Meituan's total time spent declined 15%, mainly due to a 13% decline in time spent per user. Dianping's total time spent declined 6%; although DAUs increased 19%, time spent per user fell 21%. Baidu Maps' total time spent declined 17%, while Amap declined 7%. Digital freight performance was mixed: on the shipper side, total time spent on Manyunbao and Huolala increased 9% and 16%, respectively, while Truck Alliance declined 5%; on the driver side, Manyun Driver and Huolala Driver increased 15% and 27%, respectively, while Truck Alliance Driver declined 5%. Among recruitment applications, BOSS Zhipin's total time spent increased 12% and DAUs grew 15%, offsetting a 2% decline in time spent per user. Total time spent on Zhaopin and 51job declined 9% and 11%, respectively, mainly dragged down by declines of 7% and 15% in time spent per user.

Analysis framework

The report first examines China's total smartphone user base and market-wide time spent, then compares traffic shares by application and internet-company ecosystem. For each vertical, it decomposes changes in total monthly time spent into DAUs and average daily time spent per DAU, and combines YoY, MoM, and peer comparisons to determine the sources of growth, user attrition, and changes in the competitive landscape. Finally, the report links traffic changes among AI chat tools with the organizational and product initiatives of major platforms to explain why the competitive focus is shifting toward office agents.

Methodology notes

• Industry/Sector Analysis FrameworkVolume-price decomposition

  Decomposing an application's total time spent into DAU scale and average daily time spent per user

  The report repeatedly uses DAUs to reflect the number of users and average daily time spent per user to reflect engagement depth, thereby determining whether changes in total time spent come from user expansion or changes in engagement.

• (Method Outside the Vocabulary)

  Tracking monthly app user engagement and time-spent shares by internet ecosystem

  Based on QuestMobile data, the report continuously tracks YoY and MoM changes in applications and aggregates the time-spent shares of the ecosystems represented among the top 20 and top 50 apps to observe traffic concentration and the platform competitive landscape.

Asset mapping & comparison

Structured mapping from thesis to named assets (strengths, weaknesses, peers, risks).

• ByteDance (Unlisted)

  Five of its apps ranked among China's top 20 by time spent, its ecosystem time-spent share continued to rise, and it captured user time through short-form video, short dramas, reading, music, and AI products.

  Strengths

  Douyin became the top app by time spent for the first time; Hongguo Short Drama and music applications grew rapidly; its product portfolio spans multiple content categories.

  Weaknesses

  Growth at Tomato Free Novel slowed, and Doubao's DAUs were flat MoM in July.

  Comparison

  Its ecosystem time-spent share among the top 50 apps was 40.9%, above Tencent's 29.1%.

  Risks

  Some mature applications are approaching their user-growth ceilings, while competition for user time persists both within the portfolio and against external platforms.

• Tencent (700 HK, Buy)

  WeChat still has China's largest DAU base, WeCom maintained growth, and Tencent is advancing its office-agent strategy through WorkBuddy.

  Strengths

  WeChat's DAUs reached 931 million; WeCom's DAUs increased 9% to 72 million; Tencent retained leadership in online games.

  Weaknesses

  Douyin surpassed WeChat in time-spent share, while engagement declined for Tencent Video, QQ, and some music and karaoke applications.

  Comparison

  Its combined time-spent share among the top 20 apps was 24%, below ByteDance's 35%.

  Risks

  Content-consumption time continues to migrate toward Douyin, short dramas, and emerging music products.

• Alibaba (BABA US, Buy)

  It competes in office applications, AI, e-commerce, maps, and travel through DingTalk, QwenWork, Taobao, Amap, and Fliggy.

  Strengths

  DingTalk remained the leading office application with 77 million DAUs; Qwen's DAUs increased approximately 90-fold YoY to 28 million.

  Weaknesses

  DingTalk's DAUs declined 1%, Taobao's DAUs declined 8%, Fliggy's total time spent declined 5%, and Amap's total time spent declined 7%.

  Comparison

  DingTalk leads WeCom and Feishu in user scale, but WeCom is narrowing the gap and Feishu is growing faster.

  Risks

  Taobao's heavy users declined 11%, putting pressure on engagement depth at its traditional gateway.

• iQIYI (IQ US, Neutral)

  It remains the platform with the highest total time spent among long-form video applications but faces rapid diversion of users toward short dramas.

  Strengths

  It retained the largest total time-spent scale among long-form video applications.

  Weaknesses

  Total time spent declined 27% in July, and DAUs declined 20%.

  Comparison

  Hongguo Short Drama's DAUs have surpassed the combined DAUs of iQIYI, Tencent Video, Youku, and Mango TV.

  Risks

  Short dramas and AI animated dramas continue to compete for long-form video users' time.

• Bilibili (BILI US, Neutral)

  It maintained leadership in professional user-generated video, with both user scale and engagement depth growing in July.

  Strengths

  Total time spent increased 8%, DAUs increased 6%, and time spent per user increased 2%.

  Comparison

  It outperformed Kuaishou, whose total time spent declined 15%.

• Kuaishou (1024 HK, Neutral)

  User engagement in short-form video was relatively weak.

  Weaknesses

  Total time spent declined 15% YoY, mainly dragged down by a 13% decline in time spent per user.

  Comparison

  Over the same period, Douyin's total time spent increased 29%, and Bilibili's increased 8%.

  Risks

  User engagement depth may continue to decline.

• Baidu (BIDU US, Buy)

  Both Baidu App and Baidu Maps experienced declines in time spent.

  Strengths

  The report still describes Baidu App as a major search-engine application in China.

  Weaknesses

  Baidu App's total time spent declined 23% and DAUs fell 21%; Baidu Maps' total time spent declined 17%.

  Comparison

  Baidu Maps' decline in time spent was greater than Amap's 7% decline.

  Risks

  Both user scale and engagement depth are under pressure across its search and map gateways.

• Pinduoduo (PDD US, Neutral)

  It ranked alongside Taobao as one of the top two e-commerce applications by user base and total time spent, with both users and engagement depth growing in July.

  Strengths

  DAUs increased 5%, and time spent per user increased 5%; light users and heavy users increased 19% and 2%, respectively.

  Weaknesses

  Heavy-user growth was slower than light-user growth.

  Comparison

  Taobao's DAUs declined 8% and time spent per user declined 1%, while JD.com's DAUs increased 1% and time spent per user declined 4%.

• Tencent Music (TME US, Neutral)

  Its major music applications face user attrition.

  Weaknesses

  DAUs for QQ Music, Kugou Music, and Kuwo Music declined 5%, 15%, and 15%, respectively; WeSing's total time spent declined 21%.

  Comparison

  Over the same period, DAUs for Soda Music and Tomato Music increased 70% and 37%, respectively, while NetEase Cloud Music was flat.

  Risks

  Emerging music applications continue to divert users.

• Trip.com Group (TCOM US, Neutral)

  Both user scale and time spent declined for its Trip.com and Qunar applications.

  Weaknesses

  Total time spent on Trip.com and Qunar declined 16% and 8%, respectively, while DAUs declined 9% and 6%.

  Comparison

  Fliggy's total time spent declined 5%, less than the declines at Trip.com and Qunar.

  Risks

  User engagement in online travel applications is under pressure.

• Full Truck Alliance (YMM US, Buy)

  Performance among its digital freight applications was mixed, with Manyunbao and Manyun Driver growing while Truck Alliance applications on both sides declined.

  Strengths

  Total time spent on the Manyunbao shipper app increased 9%, while the Manyun Driver app increased 15%.

  Weaknesses

  Total time spent on both the Truck Alliance shipper and driver apps declined 5%.

  Comparison

  Huolala's shipper and driver apps increased 16% and 27%, respectively.

  Risks

  User trends are diverging among different applications within the same group.

• Kanzhun/BOSS Zhipin (BZ US, Not rated)

  BOSS Zhipin maintained growth among online recruitment applications.

  Strengths

  Total time spent increased 12%, and DAUs increased 15%.

  Weaknesses

  Time spent per user declined 2%.

  Comparison

  Total time spent on Zhaopin and 51job declined 9% and 11%, respectively.

  Risks

  Growth was primarily driven by user scale, while engagement depth per user declined slightly.

Key data

• China Monthly Active Smartphone Users1.28 billionUp 1.3% YoY in July 2026 and broadly stable in recent months
• Total Monthly Time Spent on Chinese Mobile ApplicationsUp 8.8% YoYGrowth was slightly above the 8.6% previously cited in the report
• Douyin Monthly Time-Spent Share19.4%Up 3.0 percentage points YoY and 0.4 percentage points MoM, surpassing WeChat for the first time
• WeChat Monthly Time-Spent Share18.8%Down 1.1 percentage points YoY and 0.5 percentage points MoM
• Douyin DAUs714 millionUp 19% YoY; total time spent increased 29%, and time spent per user increased 8%
• WeChat DAUs931 millionStill the application with the largest DAU base in China, up 3% YoY
• Combined Time-Spent Share of ByteDance's Top 20 Apps35%Five apps ranked among the top 20 by time spent; four Tencent apps accounted for a combined 24%
• ByteDance Ecosystem Share Among the Top 50 Apps40.9%33.6% in July 2025, with another 0.8 percentage-point MoM increase in July 2026; Tencent was at 29.1%
• Tomato Free Novel DAUs144 millionUp 6% YoY, below June's 8%
• Hongguo Short Drama DAUs168 millionUp 8% MoM and 107% YoY, exceeding the combined DAUs of the four major long-form video apps
• Hongguo Short Drama Total Time SpentUp 157% YoYDAUs increased 107%, and average daily time spent per user increased 24%
• Hongguo AI Animated Drama DAUs16 millionUp 37% MoM
• Doubao DAUs168 millionApproximately 3.6 times the level a year earlier, but flat MoM in July
• Traditional Office Application DAUsDingTalk 77 million, WeCom 72 million, Feishu 10 millionDown 1%, up 9%, and up 51% YoY, respectively
• Average Daily Time Spent per User on Traditional Office ApplicationsFeishu 14.8 minutes, WeCom 12.4 minutes, DingTalk 9.9 minutesDown 1%, flat, and down 5% YoY, respectively
• iQIYI Total Time SpentDown 27% YoYDAUs declined 20% YoY
• Pinduoduo DAUsUp 5% YoYLight users increased 19%, and heavy users increased 2%
• BOSS Zhipin Total Time SpentUp 12% YoY15% DAU growth offset the impact of a 2% decline in time spent per user

Impact & implications

The report indicates that China's mobile internet market has entered a stage of low growth in the total user base, with platforms competing for time spent. ByteDance continues to increase its traffic share through a cross-category product portfolio, while new content formats such as Hongguo Short Drama can absorb user time released as mature products slow. Tencent still controls the largest user gateway through WeChat, but its share of total time spent is being squeezed. Meanwhile, MoM user acquisition by AI chat applications is slowing, and Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are extending competition into office agents that connect enterprise workflows, models, and cloud services. Most traditional content, travel, map, and local-services applications must contend with declines in user scale or engagement depth.

Risks

• The report believes user growth at Tomato Free Novel may be approaching its ceiling and is being affected by competition for user time from content formats such as AI animated dramas.
• User scale or time spent per user continues to decline across long-form video, live streaming, search, online travel, maps, and some music applications, reflecting pressure on engagement at mature applications.