The biggest app in the whole wide world

Focus Friend’s one day at the top

Last August, Bria Sullivan’s app, Focus Friend, became the most popular free app in the United States for a single day. The app, a screen-time companion built with creator Hank Green, hit the #1 spot on both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store on August 19th.

“I’ve been making apps since 2010,” Sullivan says, “and I didn’t even think to dream that high.” The achievement was fleeting. ChatGPT, which had held the top spot for the previous 22 days, reclaimed it the next day.

But one day still counts. Sullivan now describes the app as “#1 in the App Store” on its website and has many screenshots from that day. “It was like, a dream I didn’t even know I could dream came true,” she says.

What it takes to be number one

Reaching the top of the charts is exceptionally rare. Since 2012, only 568 different apps have been #1 in the US iOS App Store’s free section, according to data from Sensor Tower.

That’s less than 0.02 percent of all apps. The list is dominated by a few giants and a lot of short-lived hits.

• Temu leads with 399 total days at #1.
• Seven other apps—Facebook Messenger, ChatGPT, YouTube, TikTok, Zoom Workplace, Bitmoji, and Threads—have each spent over 100 days on top.
• For most apps, the run is very short. 292 apps lasted three days or fewer, and 130 were number one for just one day.

The one-day wonders are a diverse group, including Taco Bell, Netflix, Yahoo Mail, and MrBeast’s burger app.

The mechanics of a chart-topping app

Developers estimate that roughly 200,000 downloads in a single day is enough to reach the summit. The rankings, which refresh a few times daily, seem to track the trailing 24 hours of downloads.

Your best chance at hitting #1 is right after launch. The next is by offering free stuff for downloads, a tactic used by fast-food chains like Chick-fil-A and Krispy Kreme.

Otherwise, you need a massive cultural event. Peacock has hit #1 eight times, usually when airing major sports like the NFL or Olympics. The New York City Marathon app did it on race day in 2024.

“You see Slack messages exploding, you see your phone buzzing,” says Ben Moore, managing director of BeReal, which spent 67 days at #1. “It’s a moment—but it’s not really the destination.”

The spike and the aftermath

Hitting #1 is like going viral. It brings a surge of attention, but often attracts users who don’t stick around. “You have people installing the app, playing with it for one day, two days, and then… they churn,” Moore says.

The spike can also strain infrastructure and invite copycats. When the photo app Gradient hit #1 in 2019 with a celebrity look-alike feature, it faced backlash and a wave of scammy clones.

“We saw a surge in downloads, a wave of press coverage, and plenty of copycats,” says Alex Chernoburov, chief product officer at Ticket to the Moon, Gradient’s parent company. He believes the upsides outweigh the downsides but cautions against chasing virality over building a lasting product.

Why one day is enough

Ultimately, being a #1 app is less about sustained business success and more about a permanent badge of honor. It becomes the top line on a résumé and the first slide in a pitch deck.

Multiple developers said hitting #1 made it easier to get meetings with partners and investors. For Sullivan, it’s the screenshot she might print on a poster. “Because once you’re a #1 app,” she says, “you’re always a #1 app.”

The title functions like “New York Times bestselling author”—a universally understood imprimatur of success that nobody can take away, regardless of what comes next.