WhatsApp Now The Top IM App In 5 Countries

Instant messaging apps have seen a major boom in recent years as more and more people are now switching from feature phones to smartphones. Previously, it was Facebook’s Messenger that ruled the lot of IM apps, but a recent survey shows that a new player might have replaced Facebook at the top spot. According to a recent survey by OnDevice Research, WhatsApp has overtaken Facebook…


 

Instant messaging apps have seen a major boom in recent years as more and more people are now switching from feature phones to smartphones. Previously, it was Facebook’s Messenger that ruled the lot of IM apps, but a recent survey shows that a new player might have replaced Facebook at the top spot.

According to a recent survey by OnDevice Research, WhatsApp has overtaken Facebook Messenger as the top IM app across the 5 markets covered in the study. The 5 markets included in the survey are China, US, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia.

The survey involved 3759 smartphone owners in the said five countries. And based on the results, 44% of all respondents use WhatsApp to send instant messages, emails and images. Facebook Messenger follows at 35% and WeChat comes in at third at 28%.

The results of the survey also showed that certain apps have dominance over other apps in specific countries. For instance, Facebook Messenger is still the top IM app in the US, while BBM and WeChat is more dominant in South Africa and China respectively.

Moreover, the survey shows that there is a shifting trend when it comes to the use of instant messaging apps over SMS, email and voice calls. The results of the study have shown that 86% of the respondents are using social messaging on their phones in contrast to less than 75% usage for voice calls, SMS and email. Another interesting point of the study showcases how instant messaging apps are monetising their efforts through stickers, in-app purchases and subscription fees.

For OnDevice’s full report, you can check it using this link.

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