If you see Mark Zuckerberg, give him a high-five for me. He deserves it. After all, Facebook has officially won the mobile app war.
When the first mobile apps debuted in 2007, Facebook was a rapidly growing social networking website with approximately 20 million monthly active users (MAUs). Since the iPhone’s initial release, Facebook had to adapt their platform for the small screen. There were plenty of bumps along the way, but Facebook has emerged victorious.
The proof is in the pudding in the brand new U.S. Mobile App Report.
According to the comScore data, Facebook has more unique monthly visitors than any other mobile app. Even more impressive, though, is how much larger Facebook’s app audience is than the competition. With over 115,000,000 unique monthly users, Facebook’s mobile app audience is 38% larger than it’s closest competitor, YouTube.
We’re Spending Most of Our Mobile Time With Facebook
The data that is most impressive (to me) is how Facebook dominates Share of Mobile Time Spent across all reported age segments. Not only does the Facebook mobile app ranks #1 across all age segments, but Facebook-owned apps Instagram and Facebook Messenger are listed in the Top 10 for nearly every age segment. The only exception is Instagram which is not one of the Top 10 time-consuming apps among 55+. Facebook Messenger performs strongest with this age segment, though.
The chart above (Age 18-24) is directly from the Report. I highlighted the Facebook-owned mobile apps. For whatever it’s worth, this post isn’t a summary of what’s in the Report. I’ve included original insight below.
Facebook Is King of All Age Groups
Age 18-24: 23.8% of mobile time is spent using Facebook apps
– Facebook app ranks #1 with 14.8% of all Mobile Time Spent (MTS) time spent.
– Instagram, which Facebook bought in 2012, is #3 with 6.6%.
– Facebook’s Messenger app ranks #8 among this age group with 2.4%
Age 25-34: 23.7% of mobile time is spent using Facebook apps
– Facebook is #1 with 18.5%; strongest with this age group
– Instagram is #4 with 2.7%
– Messenger is #6 with 2.5%
Age 35-54: 23.2% of mobile time is spent using Facebook apps
– Facebook is #1 with 18.4%
– Messenger is #3 with 3.6%
– Instagram is #7 with 1.2%
Age 55+: 20.3% of mobile time is spent using Facebook apps
– Facebook is #1 with 16.3%.
– Messenger (ranked #2) performs strongest with this demographic with 4.0%
– Instagram is not on the 55+ radar
Facebook Won
There’s no competition. Facebook cracked the code. Oh, and don’t forget that WhatsApp just announced that they’ve reached 600 million MAUs. Facebook owns that app, too.
(If there was a .gif of someone spiking a football, I would put it right here.)
