Apple closed 2025 as one of the most popular internet services worldwide. New data shows how Apple’s services, devices, and platforms performed across global traffic, mobile usage, and web activity throughout the year.
Apple’s position among top internet services
Cloudflare released its 2025 Radar Year in Review, a report that tracks global internet trends using DNS and traffic data. In a separate ranking of major online services, Apple finished the year in third place.
Apple overtook TikTok early in 2025 and stayed firmly in third position for several months. Around July, Apple and Microsoft began swapping places, but the year ended with Apple holding the number three spot. The report states that “Apple finished the year at #3,” while Microsoft’s services “performed better than in 2024.”
TikTok dropped to tenth place after a volatile year shaped by regulatory pressure.
iOS traffic share continues to grow
Cloudflare’s data shows that iOS devices generated 35 percent of global mobile traffic in 2025. Android remained ahead with 65 percent. Still, Apple made gains. The report notes that “the share of traffic from iOS grew slightly year over year,” increasing by two percentage points.
Regional data highlights sharp differences:
- Monaco stood out, with iOS accounting for 70 percent of mobile traffic
- 27 countries recorded more than 90 percent Android traffic
- Countries with heavy Android usage included Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Malawi, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia
Cloudflare explains its method clearly. “By analyzing information in the User-Agent header included with each web request,” the company calculates traffic share by operating system.
Applebot activity remains limited
The report also looks at web crawlers. Apple’s crawler, Applebot, showed one of the lowest traffic volumes among major bots. Its peak usage reached just 2.4 percent of capacity during the year.
Applebot supports Apple services such as Safari search results, Siri responses, Spotlight suggestions, and Apple Intelligence features. Even with growing AI ambitions, Apple kept crawler traffic relatively restrained.
How Apple users browse and search
Cloudflare identified several usage patterns among Apple users:
- Google remained the top search engine on macOS and iOS, with retention rates above 91 percent
- On macOS, Google Chrome led browsers with 60.1 percent usage, ahead of Safari at 33.2 percent
- On iOS, Safari dominated with 78.5 percent usage, while Chrome accounted for 18.6 percent
The report also shows a clear split in device usage. Desktop traffic led overall with 57 percent, while mobile devices made up 43 percent.
The bigger picture
Cloudflare’s year-end data shows steady growth across the internet in 2025:
- Global internet traffic grew 19 percent, with a surge starting in August
- Starlink traffic doubled, expanding into more than 20 new regions
- Google remained the most used search engine worldwide
By year’s end, Apple ranked ahead of services such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Amazon, and TikTok. Only Google and Meta placed higher.
Cloudflare’s 2025 report paints a clear picture. Apple strengthened its position across services and mobile traffic, even as competition remained intense across the global internet.
