In 2021, an estimate of 3.09 billion mobile phone users accessed over-the-top messaging apps to communicate. This figure is projected to grow to 3.51 billion users in 2025. At the beginning of 2021, WhatsApp was the most popular mobile messenger app worldwide. The messaging service had accumulated over two billion monthly active users.
Number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide from 2019 to 2025
(in billions)
According to the source: "Mobile phone users of any age who use an over-the-top (OTT) messaging app via mobile phone (browser or app) at least once per month:[...] excludes anonymous social sharing apps (e.g. Whisper), social networking apps that offer private messaging capabilities as a secondary feature (e.g. Instagram, Twitter), and apps that solely provide OTT voice/video calling."
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eMarketer. (September 13, 2021). Number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide from 2019 to 2025 (in billions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/483255/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-worldwide/
eMarketer. "Number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide from 2019 to 2025 (in billions)." Chart. September 13, 2021. Statista. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/483255/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-worldwide/
eMarketer. (2021). Number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide from 2019 to 2025 (in billions). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 23, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/483255/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-worldwide/
eMarketer. "Number of Mobile Phone Messaging App Users Worldwide from 2019 to 2025 (in Billions)." Statista, Statista Inc., 13 Sep 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/483255/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-worldwide/
eMarketer, Number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide from 2019 to 2025 (in billions) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/483255/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-worldwide/ (last visited December 23, 2024)
Number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide from 2019 to 2025 (in billions) [Graph], eMarketer, September 13, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/483255/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-worldwide/