Cloudflare’s sixth annual Radar Year in Review report offers one of the most comprehensive views of how the internet behaved in 2025.
Based on anonymised traffic data from Cloudflare’s expansive global network and the 1.1.1.1 public DNS resolver. It reveals how usage patterns shifted, which services dominated online activity, and how major technologies like generative AI and satellite internet reshaped traffic flows.
Top 10 most popular Internet services worldwide
Cloudflare Radar ranks services based on aggregated DNS queries and traffic patterns, giving us a clear picture of which platforms users accessed most globally.
In 2025, the world’s reliance on the internet continued to accelerate.
- Global internet traffic grew by 19% over the year compared to 2024 - signalling ongoing increases in connectivity, content consumption, and online services usage.
- Growth wasn’t uniform: traffic gains became especially pronounced starting in August 2025, suggesting seasonal, regional, or application-driven drivers of internet activity.
This sustained growth underscores how digital experiences, from remote work and streaming to AI interaction and e-commerce, are more deeply embedded in everyday life worldwide.
Use the dropdown in the top right-hand corner of the table below to explore the full breakdown by category, including Generative AI, social media and e-commerce.
Key takeaways:
- Google remains the most popular internet service globally - demonstrating its continued centrality to search, productivity, maps, and mobile ecosystems.
- Social platforms like Instagram and YouTube climbed the ranks, reflecting sustained engagement and changes in how users spend time online.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) dipped slightly compared with 2024, suggesting nuanced shifts in cloud usage even as cloud infrastructure remains critical.
- Messaging and integrated social tools like WhatsApp remain powerhouses near the top of global usage.
Trends Behind the Numbers
AI Usage Climbs - with New Competitors
The report highlights generative AI as a major force shaping internet usage in 2025. Cloudflare’s data shows that while OpenAI’s ChatGPT stayed the most popular AI tool category leader, rivals like Claude, Perplexity, and Google Gemini made meaningful gains, indicating increasing diversity in how people and businesses interact with AI.
Security & bots reflect persistent risk
The broader Radar report (beyond the Top 10 services) details rising bot activity, record-breaking DDoS attack metrics and ongoing advances in post-quantum encryption - all underscoring a dual reality: the internet is more critical than ever, but threats and complexity are rising in tandem.
Why this matters
The Cloudflare 2025 Radar Year in Review highlights a few major internet trends shaping the present and future:
✔ Internet usage is still growing rapidly and likely won’t slow down as digital services diversify.
✔ Platform prominence shifts, with visual and social media services gaining ground even as foundational tools like search and operating systems remain dominant.
✔ AI is no longer just a niche category; it’s foundational to how the internet is used and experienced.
From traffic growth and service popularity shifts to new technologies and security dynamics, Cloudflare Radar’s 2025 Year in Review paints a picture of an internet that’s bigger, busier and more complex than ever.
