Christy Balita
Research expert covering the Philippines
Mobile internet & apps in the Philippines - statistics & facts
The Philippines has seen massive growth in smartphone ownership and mobile internet access in recent years. Despite limitations in network infrastructure, Filipino internet users were among the most active mobile internet users in the Asia Pacific region, spending about 5.31 hours per day engaged in a variety of online activities such as watching online videos and listening to music streaming services. Mobile application usage also increased as more Filipinos used their devices to access social networking, shopping, gaming, and digital banking applications.
Aside from social media, an increasing share of Filipinos installed mobile applications for gaming, shopping, food delivery, and digital banking. When it comes to mobile gaming, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Roblox, and Tongits Go were the most popular. Meanwhile, Food Panda and GrabFood dominated the food delivery apps market in the Philippines. Finally, GCash was the most downloaded finance app, followed by Maya. Across all categories, Facebook Messenger had the highest average active daily use in a month among other mobile applications.
Popular mobile apps among Filipinos
Social networking applications consistently dominated the mobile applications market, with Facebook having the most downloads in 2022. The Philippines’ Facebook population has been among the highest in the world, thanks to the Internet.org app introduced by Facebook and Smart Communications Inc. in 2015. The app allowed free mobile internet services to a few mobile sites, including Facebook and Messenger. Aside from Facebook, TikTok also captured a growing share of smartphone users. As of April 2023, there were over 40 million TikTok users in the Philippines.Aside from social media, an increasing share of Filipinos installed mobile applications for gaming, shopping, food delivery, and digital banking. When it comes to mobile gaming, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Roblox, and Tongits Go were the most popular. Meanwhile, Food Panda and GrabFood dominated the food delivery apps market in the Philippines. Finally, GCash was the most downloaded finance app, followed by Maya. Across all categories, Facebook Messenger had the highest average active daily use in a month among other mobile applications.
Trends in mobile network coverage
Challenges in network connections continue to hamper the activities of Filipino online users. As of December 2021, the median download speed of mobile internet in the Philippines was among the lowest in the Asia Pacific region. However, the arrival of a third telecommunications provider, which challenged the long-standing duopoly between PLDT and Globe Telecom, has seen improved network infrastructures and offers more subscription alternatives. This, alongside the rollout of the 5G network, was forecast to further develop mobile internet performance and usage penetration in the coming years.
