Paste Keyboard tops App Retailer; meteoric rise reveals energy of TikTok

A simple copy-and-paste app called Paste Keyboard shot to the top of the App Store charts this week after years of obscurity.

The keyboard app from the 28-year-old South Korean developer Techin Park swept TikTok’s huge success with it – and then dethroned it as the most popular app in the US.

“Everyone is curious, like so how [a] simple idea, copy and paste, trumped the almighty TikTok in app rank, ”Park told Cult of Mac. “Copy and paste is a feature we all use at least once a day. Not many find it special. But in reality an increase in efficiency [when it comes to] how we copy and paste can save a lot more time than we might think. “

And reveal insane number of downloads too.

Insert Keyboard tops the App Store

Well, that’s not the result that many expected.
Screenshot: App Store

TikTok sat as the # 1 app in the App Store for over a year and showed Michael Jordan’s level of dominance in 1991. Even former President Donald Trump – who tried to ban the hugely popular app and said the Chinese government could use it to spy on Americans – couldn’t turn off TikTok. In fact, it’s more popular than ever. In early 2021, the app reached more than 689 million users per month.

It’s an amusing twist of fate that TikTok popularized the very app that eventually stole its crown.

“Because of the coronavirus, everyone at home started looking for something fun that fueled things like TikTok challenges,” said Park. In these viral videos, TikTok users try to perform a specific task, such as a specific dance to a specific song.

Such a challenge fueled the rise of Paste Keyboard.

The fact that copy and paste is what TikTok beats is frankly insane. And neither is this super-next-generation copy / paste that uses augmented reality or sophisticated machine learning.

TikTok is fueling the unlikely success of Paste Keyboard

Paste Keyboard is a simple keyboard app that lets you write a message, save it to the clipboard, and then paste it anywhere you need it. In other words, it’s not entirely different from the functionality Apple added to the iPhone more than a decade ago.

A nice little app? For sure. The kind of app you’d expect TikTok to top the list of free iPhone apps? No way!

Still, it somehow dominates. According to Gizmodo, it has something to do with young people (how are you, classmates?).

TikTok users spam the line “I Miss the Rage” on social media regarding a song by rapper Trippie Red called “Miss the Rage”.

Videos shared on TikTok showed people how to use the paste keyboard to copy and paste the line endlessly.

“Changing a flow that is complex and difficult to understand [and replacing it with an] simple and easy way was the main point of this project, and it served its purpose well, ”said Park of his suddenly red-hot app.

The users feed in if not the money

Park said the app currently has 400,000 daily active users and 1 million monthly active users.

“It’s mostly used in social networking apps, so everyday use is pretty active,” he said, which is quite an understatement.

Those stats sound pretty impressive – but they’re even more so when you consider that a few days ago the app was receiving maybe 100 to 150 downloads per day. In the past fourteen days, it has been downloaded more than 346,000 times in the United States alone.

“The app seems to have grown immensely in a short period of time, but the truth is, my app has been on the market since 2016,” said Park. “Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time on maintenance and improvements. Some have had a negative opinion of the app, but this app definitely isn’t lacking in quality. Over the past five years, the digital landscape has continuously changed and developed. During this time, Paste Keyboard was up and running, awaiting its time for opportunistic growth and recognition. “

Copy, paste, master TikTok and the App Store

See what you get with the Insert Keyboard appWhat you see is what you get
Photo: insert keyboard

But don’t think that the app developer who lives and works in Seoul has money. According to Park, the app generates around $ 3,500 per day in advertising revenue.

Why so little? Park said it’s because Paste Keyboard doesn’t display a lot of advertisements. He doesn’t seem to think about changing that either – although he will certainly continue to work on the app.

“With the data and insights we’ve gathered as our app has grown, we’re looking for additional features that our users will benefit from,” he said.

Ironically, the fact that this app has overtaken TikTok underscores the power of TikTok. It’s no secret that the ultra-popular app is where advertisers and would-be influencers flock to these days. But it also seems like a prime destination for developers looking to take their apps to the next level.

Download from: App Store (iOS)

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