App Annie December 2014 data shows rise in security and selfie apps

App Annie, the intelligence company and analyst firm, has released data on what apps people downloaded in December 2014. Interestingly, apps in two categories at seemingly opposite ends of the privacy spectrum — security and selfie apps — came out tops.

Dubsmash, an app by Mobile Motion, topped iOS charts with strong downloads. Dubsmash allows users to select a well-known song or a quote from popular celebrities and then record themselves singing that song in their words. During the December holidays, App Annie has revealed, Christmas songs were the most popular as dubbed playbacks were often used as Christmas greetings. The app was popular on Google Play too, with Germany, leading in downloads.

In a blog post on App Annie’s website, the analyst firm offers lucidity on Dubsmash popularity “Dubsmash features a built-in sharing option to messaging apps like WhatsApp Messenger and Facebook Messenger. In addition, user-generated ‘video selfies’ are also frequently shared on platforms like Instagram or YouTube”.

The other popular app during the December period was Cheetah Mobile’s Clean Master. The app reached 100 million daily active users.

The company’s CEO, Sheng Fu, believes the company’s success has been fueled by intense competition in the Chinese market, which helped it create free yet high-quality products. The other app by Cheetah Mobile which was popular was Clean Master Security. Ranked at eight, it includes antivirus and anti-malware packages, privacy features and a phone-finding functionality.

Read more: Google Play gained more new apps than Apple’s app store in 2014

Reviews of apps can be brutal and colour an app useless if they are not positive. Reviews are important, it is the way to find out about an apps usability from previous users. App Annie, has also revealed that Clean Master Security received strong reviews, achieving an overall rating of 4.8 stars.

The surge of security apps was spread out across different apps. AVG Anti-Virus Security broke into the Google Play’s top revenue charts. AVG’s app offers protection from viruses, malware, spyware and online exploitation in real-time, with two versions, Free and Pro. It was the free version which offers additional features through in-app purchases that saw strong revenue rank growth over the past month, proving as well that popularity of an app is not proportional to the number of users who want to pay for it.

“AntiVirus Security Pro was offered with a 40% discount off its original subscription price of $14.99. This helped both versions climb up revenue rankings, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany”. App Annie said.

It further stated that, “In addition to its solid revenue performance, AntiVirus Security has also received strong user feedback. This was especially true during the week of Christmas, as the app received numerous positive reviews”.