Cloudflare shares top internet trends of 2022

The security, performance, and reliability firm Cloudflare, Inc., which is assisting in the development of a better Internet, released its third annual Year in Review, which examines Internet insights, security trends, and the hottest online services for 2022.

Here are some of the biggest highlights from the annual review

• Google was the number 1 most popular service of the year according to Cloudflare data. The search giant beat out Facebook (#2), Apple and TikTok (tied at #3) and YouTube (#5).
• Facebook was the most popular social media service of 2022, followed by TikTok in the #2 position. Instagram (#3) overtook Twitter (#4) in the Social Media category: the photo and video-sharing app knocked Twitter from 3rd place in August.
• Worldwide Internet traffic surged in late November as the FIFA World Cup got underway and holiday shoppers made Black Friday the busiest day online in 2022.
• In 2022, more phishing emails originated from the United States than the next 22 countries combined.
• Iran shut down the Internet more than any other country with 60 observed Internet blackouts this year, accounting for one-third of all Internet shutdowns that Cloudflare analyzed.

Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare said “Cloudflare has built one of the world’s largest networks that offers a unique view of Internet traffic and online activity around the world.”

He added “The world continues to rely on the Internet, and we are humbled to have been able to do our part to keep the world connected through protests, conflicts, and natural disasters in 2022. It’s a privilege to help build a better, more transparent and more informed Internet.”

This information was obtained using Cloudflare Radar, a free service that enables anybody to monitor global trends and Internet insights. Radar is driven by data from Cloudflare’s worldwide network, one of the largest in the world with 275+ cities and 100+ countries, as well as aggregated and anonymized data from Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 public DNS Resolver, a popular tool for quick and secure web browsing.