Nowadays, when it comes to chat apps, we definitely have a rich pool to choose from. Once upon a time, it was simply Facebook Messenger and possibly Skype that served our texting needs. Today, we have WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Hangouts, and so many others, not to mention hybrid apps such as Snapchat, which are a mix between social media and private messengers.
Which apps you use mainly relies on what most of your friends are using — you may be a huge fan of Telegram, but if all your contacts insist on using WhatsApp as their main chatting tool, you'd be hard-pressed to dissuade them. Imagine how hard it is for up-and-coming messengers to actually gain any type of momentum! So, when it comes to you, you are probably acutely aware which the most popular apps in your immediate circles are. But have you ever wondered which ones are most popular overall?
Well, ranking and insights company SimilarWeb was wondering the same. So, the company gathered data from Android handsets in 187 countries worldwide in order to find the answer. And, it turns out that the most popular app on Android smartphones worldwide is... drum roll, please... WhatsApp!
While Facebook's Messenger still holds steady ground in countries such as the USA, Canada, in Oceania, and some larger countries in Europe, such as Germany and France, WhatsApp is a clear winner in South America, most of Africa, China, and Russia, which easily pushes it to the top of the global rankings.
We wouldn't feel bad about Facebook, however, as we recall that the company actually bought WhatsApp a while ago (for $21.8 billion, at that), effectively reinforcing the “If you can't beat them – buy them” rule in advance.
Further down the list, we have Viber on third and Telegram — the app that heavily markets itself with its end-to-end encryption — is down on 6th place. Interestingly, Samsung's ChatON is still the most popular chat app in Eritrea, Africa, despite the fact that the chat was supposed to stop its services worldwide a year ago, according to Samsung. Apparently, there was a change in plans, as ChatON is still alive and well on the Play Store.
Here is the full pie chart, which shows WhatsApp's dominance in its full glory:
Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.
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