WhatsApp has overtaken Facebook Messenger as the top global chat application, according to a new report.
The Global Web Index Mobile Messaging trends report says that WhatsApp has been used by nearly 40 percent of the mobile Internet audience each month as of the third quarter of 2014.
“However, in some countries the latter [Facebook Messenger] has seen a sharp rise in usage in recent months due to Facebook’s decision to remove the messaging component from its main app and transfer it to the Messenger service; in the UK, for example, it’s jumped from 27 percent in quarter 4 of 2014 to 40 percent by quarter 2 of 2014,” the report noted.
Skype is not too far behind at third with 32 percent, while Viber, Line, Snapchat, Kakao Talk, WeChat, Tango, and Kik Messenger fill out the top messaging apps list.
The report from the London-based company notes that there’s no single service that has achieved a completely global reach. Skype, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp “tend to post slightly better figures even within their least popular countries but still have usage below 20 percent in some markets,” the report said.
WhatsApp has high usage in South Africa, Malaysia, Argentina, Singapore, Hong Kong, Spain, India, and Mexico, among other countries.
Facebook Messenger is big in the Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Argentina, and Malaysia, among other countries.
Skype is biggest in the United Arab Emirates and is also used frequently in countries including the Philippines, India, and Brazil.
Kakao Talk is primarily used in South Korea; Kik Messenger is big in Saudi Arabia; Line is big in Taiwan and to an extent in Hong Kong; Snapchat is big in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the United States; Tango is big in Saudi Arabia and Turkey; and Viber is big in the Philippines, Ireland, and Vietnam.
WeChat is biggest in China, with over 80 percent usage.
