All of the companies listed above are publicly listed, but some of the most popular social media apps are run by privately owned companies. Here are a few behemoths: ByteDance — Beijing-headquartered ByteDance is the owner of video-focused social media platform TikTok (1.09 billion MAUs). It should be noted that TikTok is now the subject of a potential countrywide ban in the US. TikTok is based off of the company's app Douyin (730 million MAUs); while TikTok was created for a global audience, Douyin is targeted at a Chinese userbase. Telegram — Telegram (700 million MAUs) is an online messaging app created by brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov. It has gained popularity because it prioritizes speed and privacy. Sina — Chinese tech company Sina has four business areas, one of which is Sina Weibo (586 million MAUs). The microblogging tool is one of China's largest social media platforms.