In today’s digital generation, social media platforms play a crucial role in how people connect, communicate, consume, and share content. With billions of active users across various social net working websites, these popular social media platforms have become a powerful source of entertainment, information, and influence.
This overview highlights some of the most Popular Social Media Platforms, their active user counts, and the companies or individuals who own them.
Popular Social Media Platforms 2025
- Youtube
- X (formaly twitter)
- Snaptube
- TikTok
Facebook is one of the world’s largest and popular social media platforms. Launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his college peers at Harvard, Facebook was initially exclusive to college students but then opened globally in 2006 and became the world’s largest social network. Facebook continues to lead globally in user volume, accounting for about 3.07 billion monthly active users and 2.11 billion daily active users as of late 2023.
Today, Facebook is owned by Meta Platforms Inc. and is part of a broader ecosystem that includes Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads. Meta Platforms Inc. is a public company with a market capitalization of about USD 1.75 trillion as of mid-June 2025. The top individual owner is Mark Zuckerberg, who is Meta’s co-founder, chairman, and CEO.
Despite facing privacy controversies over the years, Facebook remains one of the most dominant platforms in the world, with billions of active users. Meta Platforms reported over USD 164 billion in revenue in 2024 and a net income of over USD 62 billion through it.
YouTube
YouTube is one of the most popular video-sharing platforms in the world. It was founded in 2005 by former PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and was later bought by Google for USD 1.65 billion in November 2006. As of early 2025, YouTube had around 2.7 to 2.9 billion monthly active users. YouTube has reshaped digital content by consuming around 70 billion views per day. Today, YouTube is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. The current CEO of YouTube is Neal Mohan (since 2023).
According to analysts, YouTube’s standalone valuation is around USD 475-550 billion. Its advertising revenue reached around USD 36.1 billion and USD 14.5 billion through subscriptions (YouTube Premium and Music).
YouTube has faced some criticism over the years regarding content moderation, misinformation, and monetization policies, but, aside from that, it remains a center in online video culture and continues to grow every day.
Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing social media platform launched in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. It was acquired by Facebook Inc. (now Meta Platforms Inc.) in 2012. The platform is especially famous among younger audiences, influencers, brands, and businesses for marketing, product promotion, and personal branding. As of 2025, Instagram has over 2 billion monthly active users, making it one of the most used apps globally. The current CEO is Adam Mosseri (since 2018).
Instagram allows users to:
- Share stories (disappearing content lasting for 24 hours)
- Post photos and videos on their profile.
- Watch reels, creative videos (like YouTube shorts and TikTok)
- Send messages through Instagram Direct.
- Go live with followers
- Follow hashtags and explore content around the world.
Instagram has become a core influencer and branding platform. Its advertising contributes significantly to Meta’s revenue. Although Meta faces scrutiny over youth content effects and data privacy, the user engagement remains high.
X (formerly Twitter)
X, formerly known as Twitter, is a social media platform known for real-time updates, public conversations and trending news, It was originally launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams but was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022 for approximately USD 44 billion and was officially rebranded to X in 2023 to reflect Musk’s vision of an “everything app”. The current CEO of X is Linda Yaccarino (since 2023), while Musk remains as executive chair and CTO.
X was merged into xAI (Musk’s AI venture) in a stock-only transaction valuing X at USD 45 billion and xAI at USD 80 billion in total, including debt.
Elon Musk has claimed about 600 million users by May 2024, but independent data suggests a ~15% global decline, resulting in around 550 million users. Daily active users are reported to be around 174 million only in the US.
In summary, X is evolving from a microblogging platform into a global digital ecosystem with ambitious plans for future growth.
SnapTube
Snaptube is a mobile application launched in 2014 that allows users to download videos and audio from various platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Dailymotion, and more. It is not available on the Google Play Store due to its violation of content downloading policies, but can be downloaded from its official website and third-party app stores. Snaptube was created by a Chinese company called Mobius Pace.
Snaptube has over 500 million users globally. The app is privately held, so net worth disclosures are publicly unavailable.
SnapTube, while popular for downloading videos and music from platforms, has been involved in several controversies mainly related to security, legality, and ethical concerns. The company has removed many of the problems that created controversies in hopes of improving the application further in future updates.
Even so, SnapTube continues to be widely popular among people around the world and is a convenient medium to download your favourite videos and audios from different popular platforms.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, launched in 2003 and later acquired by Microsoft in 2016. It is designed to help individuals connect, share, and grow professionally. It has about 930 million registered users, though daily active and monthly active users are estimated at around 700 million. Ryan Roslansky is the current CEO of LinkedIn (since 2009).
LinkedIn is used in more than 200 countries and is very popular among job seekers, recruiters, employers, and entrepreneurs. LinkedIn is a vital tool for personal branding, career development, and industry networking. LinkedIn managed to go to USD 13.3 billion in net worth.
In short, LinkedIn is a professional hub for finding jobs, growing careers, sharing expertise, and building valuable business relationships. It has the potential to grow even more popular and useful over time.
TikTok
TikTok is a short-form video sharing app that allows users to create and watch 15-second to 10-minute videos. TikTok is mainly used for entertainment, education, comedy, challenges, and viral trends. It was launched globally by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company, in 2017 (after merging with another app called Musical.ly). As of 2025, TikTok had approximately 1.58 billion monthly active users globally.
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming stepped down as CEO of TikTok in 2021 but remains influential. His net worth is estimated to be around USD 57.5 billion, making him one of China’s richest individuals. The current CEO of TikTok is Shou Zi Chew.
TikTok has become one of the most popular websites in the world and is most popular among teens with its addictive short-form videos and algorithm-driven content discovery. TikTok has become a major force today and a game-changer across entertainment, fashion, and more.
