International Apps That Became Popular in the US

Did you know that you can get international flavor from the apps you download? If you don’t have the time or money for travel, never fear: you can still experience another culture by simply playing an app, thanks to our ever-connected world. Even though Americans might think the apps they use were developed in Silicon Valley, more apps are developed outside of the United States than in it. The following four apps are some of the most popular apps in America that were developed abroad.

Remember, even if you’re downloading the most popular app in the world, it’s still a good idea to make sure your download didn’t give hackers access to your phone. After any kind of download — no matter how secure you think it is — be sure to run a virus scan to prevent any infections on your SD card or phone files. Click here to run a full virus scan now:

Angry Birds — Finland

The massively popular game was developed by Finnish designers and released in 2009. The game’s premise is, of course, simple: the angry birds want to save eggs from green pigs. Despite its simplicity, though, the game has spawned a franchise complete with movies, comic books, and an animated series. At three billion downloads, the game is the most downloaded game of all time.

Fruit Ninja — Australia

Released in 2010 by Australian developers Halfbrick, Fruit Ninja asks players to cut a fruit in half using their devices’ touch screens. The game’s multiplayer features and increasingly difficult game play earned the game more than 300 million downloads by 2012. By its fifth anniversary, the game met an immense goal: one billion downloads worldwide.

Cut the Rope — Russia

With 750 million downloads worldwide, this 2013 release seems fated to become as popular as the other games mentioned here. The app offers 425 levels of the main character Om Nom’s adventures collecting his main intention: candy. The game has also received a number of accolades, from the British Academy Video Games Awards to an Apple Design Award.

LINE — Japan

Created in Japan in 2011, LINE earned over 200 million users in its first six months in operations. Six years later, LINE has over 600 million users around the world, letting users make video and voice calls and send messages and stickers. The free app lets users make group calls with up to 200 people, store photos and messages, and post day-to-day activities on a timeline.