Messaging apps have also increased the range of services they offer. Apart from being a more convenient alternative to SMS-based texting, they also provide enhanced features such as group chats, photo sharing, voice calls, and video calls. According to an April 2021 survey, more than half of the people interviewed were using third-party mobile apps to make voice calls either very often or somewhat often.
With two billion active monthly users, WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messaging app worldwide. Facebook Messenger ranked second, followed by Chinese services WeChat and QQ Mobile. Other popular messaging apps include Snapchat, Discord, and Telegram. Facebook currently owns the top two messaging app products– WhatsApp and Messenger. The social media giant acquired WhatsApp in early 2014 for an eye-watering 19 billion U.S. dollars, when the messaging service had about 465 million monthly active users.