Mobile social media and communication apps accounted for the bulk of global hours spend on mobile apps. In 2021, social and communication apps accounted for approximately 43 percent of the time users worldwide spent on mobile apps. Photo and video apps accounted for 25.4 percent of mobile hours, up from 24.2 percent in 2020. Time spent on gaming apps decreased between 2020 and 2021, with global users spending approximately 7.7 percent of their mobile time gaming in 2021.
Distribution of global time spent on mobile in 2020 and 2021, by category
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Statistics on Mobile app usage
Overview
8
- Basic Statistic Annual number of global mobile app downloads 2016-2022
- Premium Statistic Mobile app downloads worldwide 2017-2025, by segment
- Premium Statistic Number of iOS and Google Play app downloads as of Q4 2022
- Basic Statistic Annual global mobile app downloads 2021-2026, by store
- Premium Statistic Leading Android apps worldwide 2022, by downloads
- Premium Statistic Leading iPhone apps worldwide 2022, by downloads
- Basic Statistic Google Play: number of available apps as of Q3 2022
- Premium Statistic Apple App Store: number of available apps as of Q3 2022
Market metrics
7
- Premium Statistic Mobile app revenue worldwide 2017-2025, by segment
- Premium Statistic Global mobile app consumer spending 2016-2022
- Basic Statistic Quarterly consumer spend on mobile apps per user 2019-2022
- Premium Statistic Mobile apps consumer spend Q4 2022
- Premium Statistic Global apps and mobile games app store revenues 2021
- Basic Statistic Leading iPhone apps worldwide 2022, by revenue
- Basic Statistic Leading Android apps worldwide 2022, by revenue
App usage and engagement
7
- Premium Statistic Most popular smartphone activities for global users 2022
- Premium Statistic Smartphone activities in selected countries 2022
- Basic Statistic Global users daily time on apps 2020-2021, by category
- Premium Statistic Hours spent on mobile apps 2019-2021, by country
- Basic Statistic Share of app user engagement worldwide 2020-2021, by category
- Premium Statistic Global Android app retention rate Q3 2022
- Premium Statistic Global iOS app retention rate Q3 2022
Social media apps
8
- Premium Statistic Social apps: global time spent 2019-2021, by region
- Premium Statistic Social apps: global consumer spending 2019-2025, by region
- Basic Statistic Global users daily time on social media apps 2020-2021, by age group
- Premium Statistic Leading iPhone social media apps worldwide 2022, by downloads
- Premium Statistic Leading Android social media apps worldwide 2022, by downloads
- Premium Statistic Most downloaded social media apps worldwide 2022
- Premium Statistic Social media apps daily open rate among global active users Q2 2022
- Basic Statistic Daily social media apps global engagement Q2 2022
Mobile messaging and communication
6
- Premium Statistic Most popular messenger apps worldwide 2022, by downloads
- Premium Statistic Global market share of selected mobile messaging apps 2019-2022
- Premium Statistic Mobile messaging usage reach 2021, by country
- Basic Statistic Global third-party mobile app usage to make voice calls 2021
- Premium Statistic Preferred business communication methods for global smartphone users 2020-2021
- Premium Statistic Most used work communication channels on mobile 2021, by country
OTT and social video
7
- Premium Statistic Leading video apps worldwide 2021, by downloads
- Basic Statistic Most downloaded global video streaming apps Q1-Q3 2021
- Premium Statistic Installs of selected video streaming apps in the U.S. 2021
- Basic Statistic Global consumer spending on entertainment apps 2021, by category
- Premium Statistic YouTube average visit length worldwide 2021, by device
- Basic Statistic TikTok: number of global users 2020-2025
- Premium Statistic Average weekly time spent on TikTok worldwide 2021
Mobile gaming
5
- Basic Statistic Number of mobile gamers worldwide 2021, by region
- Basic Statistic Global mobile gaming app revenue 2019-2022
- Premium Statistic Leading mobile game genres spending worldwide 2022
- Premium Statistic Leading mobile game subgenres spending worldwide 2020-2021
- Premium Statistic Mobile games with highest IAP revenue worldwide 2022
Spotlight: AR apps and the mobile metaverse
6
- Premium Statistic Mobile AR active users worldwide 2021, by platform
- Basic Statistic U.S. mobile augmented reality game interest 2022
- Premium Statistic Social network augmented reality users U.S. 2018-2022
- Premium Statistic Global downloads of mobile apps with virtual worlds and avatars 2020-2021
- Basic Statistic Number of apps with "metaverse" in their name 2022
- Basic Statistic Apps mentioning selected keywords along with "metaverse" 2022
Further related statistics
14
- U.S. smartphone app user engagement 2015, by category
- Leading iOS app reach in the United States 2019
- Leading iOS app reach worldwide 2019
- Leading Android app reach in the United States 2019
- Leading Android app reach worldwide 2019
- Shortest app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical
- Leading categories of mobile apps among teenagers in Poland 2019
- Smartphone app use during Ramadan Indonesia 2020
- Longest app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical
- Average app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical
- Average iOS app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical and install type
- Brazil: penetration rate of ride-hailing apps 2021
- LINE Pay global quarterly transaction volume 2017-2020
- Preferred types of food for food delivery app orders Taiwan 2020
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Statistics
- U.S. smartphone app user engagement 2015, by category
- Leading iOS app reach in the United States 2019
- Leading iOS app reach worldwide 2019
- Leading Android app reach in the United States 2019
- Leading Android app reach worldwide 2019
- Shortest app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical
- Leading categories of mobile apps among teenagers in Poland 2019
- Smartphone app use during Ramadan Indonesia 2020
- Longest app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical
- Average app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical
- Average iOS app uninstall time worldwide 2018, by vertical and install type
- Brazil: penetration rate of ride-hailing apps 2021
- LINE Pay global quarterly transaction volume 2017-2020
- Preferred types of food for food delivery app orders Taiwan 2020
Data.ai. (February 22, 2022). Distribution of global time spent on mobile in 2020 and 2021, by category [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/435324/share-app-time-category/
Data.ai. "Distribution of global time spent on mobile in 2020 and 2021, by category." Chart. February 22, 2022. Statista. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/435324/share-app-time-category/
Data.ai. (2022). Distribution of global time spent on mobile in 2020 and 2021, by category. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: March 30, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/435324/share-app-time-category/
Data.ai. "Distribution of Global Time Spent on Mobile in 2020 and 2021, by Category." Statista, Statista Inc., 22 Feb 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/435324/share-app-time-category/
Data.ai, Distribution of global time spent on mobile in 2020 and 2021, by category Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/435324/share-app-time-category/ (last visited March 30, 2023)
Distribution of global time spent on mobile in 2020 and 2021, by category [Graph], Data.ai, February 22, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/435324/share-app-time-category/