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Cloud storage and TikTok can generate more upstream traffic than BitTorrent—but the ranking depends on the network type. Sandvine’s 2024 report uses 2023 U.S. subscriber data: iCloud and Google Cloud Storage ranked above BitTorrent on fixed networks, while TikTok led the separate mobile-network table. The figures do not establish a single global ranking or describe traffic in 2026.
What the upload rankings actually show
Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report 2024 presents separate U.S. app tables for fixed and mobile networks. The tables report 2023 upstream traffic, including each app’s share and volume per subscriber. Those measures are not market shares, user counts, or absolute global byte totals.
| Network and measure | App | Rank | Share | Volume per subscriber |
| U.S. fixed, upstream app traffic (2023) | iCloud | 1 | 9% | 101 MB |
| U.S. fixed, upstream app traffic (2023) | Google Cloud Storage | 3 | 4% | 47 MB |
| U.S. fixed, upstream app traffic (2023) | BitTorrent | 6 | 4% | 46 MB |
| U.S. fixed, upstream app traffic (2023) | TikTok | 7 | 3% | 40 MB |
| U.S. mobile, upstream app traffic (2023) | TikTok | 1 | 8% | 10 MB |
All table values and ranks above come from Sandvine’s 2024 report and refer to its 2023 U.S. subscriber-volume comparisons. On fixed networks, the table puts two cloud services ahead of BitTorrent, but places TikTok below it. TikTok’s first-place position applies to the separate mobile table; it does not mean TikTok outranked BitTorrent on fixed connections.
Why cloud services appear high in fixed-network uploads
Uploading is not limited to a person manually sending a file. Sandvine says fixed-network upstream traffic reflects file delivery, file sharing, and iCloud use. It also points to automatic iPhone and Android backups that upload when a device reaches home Wi-Fi. A backup service can therefore contribute traffic without the user starting a visible upload each time.
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That is Sandvine’s explanation of the traffic patterns it observed, not a measured breakdown proving how much each behavior contributed. The table shows app-level comparisons, not a causal accounting of why a particular subscriber’s connection was busy.
Why TikTok stands out on mobile
Video apps both deliver content to viewers and receive videos, edits, and other content from people who create and share. Sandvine says social media is a major contributor to mobile upstream traffic and describes TikTok as the largest upstream traffic generator per subscriber in its customers’ networks. Its mobile table ranks TikTok first at 8% and 10 MB per subscriber in the 2023 U.S. comparison.
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That finding is limited to the customer networks Sandvine observed. It is not a claim that TikTok leads uploads on every mobile network or that it exceeds BitTorrent in every access category.
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Does this mean BitTorrent is no longer widely used?
No. Sandvine still calls BitTorrent a significant factor and notes that a small number of users generate substantial traffic. A rank or percentage in one table cannot establish that BitTorrent disappeared, or by itself show that its absolute traffic declined.
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The 46 MB fixed-network figure is an average per subscriber across the table’s population, not the amount a typical BitTorrent user transfers. TorrentFreak’s coverage of the report makes that distinction and notes that VPN use can affect measurement. Such caveats complicate comparisons; they do not prove that BitTorrent traffic is absent.
Why upload traffic matters
Download speed gets attention because streaming, browsing, and app downloads bring data to a device. Upload traffic is the other direction: it carries backups, shared files, and user-created posts or videos from devices to services and other people. When a household backs up phones or shares large files, upstream use can affect how quickly those tasks finish and how much upload capacity remains for other activity.
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Rankings help show which apps account for a portion of observed upstream traffic, but they do not tell an individual household what speed it needs. The report’s tables are population-level measurements, not a home-network diagnostic.
How to read the headline’s date and scope
The phrase “dethroned” is best understood as a trend description, not a verified 2026 global leaderboard. The cited primary report was published in 2024, and its relevant tables describe 2023 U.S. data divided by fixed and mobile networks. The page carrying the exact headline is dated May 26, 2026, but its date does not turn the underlying measurements into 2026 data or supply a newer traceable primary dataset: Position is Everything.
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Sandvine offers a possible longer-term interpretation, saying that BitTorrent usage might fall as people use cloud services and streaming content. That is the report’s observation, not a dated forecast or proof that one behavior directly caused another. Its data support a narrower conclusion: in the 2023 U.S. comparisons, cloud services ranked above BitTorrent on fixed upstream traffic, and TikTok led the separate mobile comparison.
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