WeChat has retained its crown as the top messaging app in the world.
Beating Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, the Chinese chat app is used regularly by almost a quarter of all internet-using adults.
WeChat has 23% of online adults (aged 16-64) using the app every month, Facebook Messenger second with 20%, and WhatsApp at 18%.
This puts WeChat almost 50m users ahead of their closest rival.
However it is in Asia Pacific where WeChat’s dominance is really seen – with almost 40% of online adults using the app regularly, compared to Facebook’s 16%.
The data comes from market research company GlobalWebIndex, who tracked traffic of all messaging apps in 32 different countries.
The total global audience for mobile chat services has grown by 40% since the start of 2013.
Nearly 80% of online adults have a smartphone, and over 75% say they use it regularly to access the internet.
As GlobalWebIndex’s Jason Mander said: “With people no longer wanting to share everything with everyone on social networks, mobile messaging apps have become the ideal place for both one-to-one and group conversations.”
WeChat’s user base in Asia Pacific has grown 150% since the start of 2013, adding a total of 200m users.
That is the equivalent of adding the entire population of Brazil.
Tencent’s app grew 500% in Singapore, 1200% in Malaysia and a massive 2350% in India.
They also have a much younger demographic when compared to WhatsApp or Messenger – three quarters of their global users are under 35.
And interestingly, these users are also drawn from the top income quartile, and are highly brand-conscious:
“3 in 5 say they tend to buy brands they see advertised (20% ahead of the global average), while three quarters say they tend to buy premium versions of products (over-indexing by 36%) and that they regularly tell friends and family members about new products or services (over-indexing by 28%).”
To see the full results, click here.