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Mobile apps are today used more than mobile browsers. They currently account for 84.9% of total mobile time spent (a 10.3% increase on last year), and nearly 20% of total media time, for US adults. In 2016, users spent two hours and 11 minutes per day using mobile apps, but just 26 minutes browsing the web on a mobile device. By 2019, mobile browsing time is predicted to increase by just one minute, while mobile app usage is expected to mushroom to two hours and 43 minutes per day.<\/p>\n
But the number of apps in use is declining, dropping from an average of 21 apps per month in 2016, to 20 this year,\u00a0according to eMarketer. Usage remains focused on social networks, Google and apps offering practical functionality such as maps and messaging. Facebook in particular is one of the most popular apps used by American adults, with user sessions rising as high as 17 minutes per day this year, while desktop or laptop Facebook access has held stagnant at six minutes a day. Instagram\u2019s recent move towards in-app shopping is also helping to ensure that it maintains a strong footing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican consumers spend the bulk of their app\u00a0time\u00a0conducting five activities: listening to digital audio, social networking,\u00a0gaming,\u00a0video viewing and messaging,\u201d says eMarketer principal analyst Cathy Boyle. \u201cEach of these are time-intensive activities that consumers conduct with a high level of frequency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, YouTube dominates entertainment apps stealing 68% of time spent, with Netflix trailing at 21%, according to comScore. Within the retail category, Amazon captures 34% of users\u2019 time, with eBay taking second at 8%.\u00a0This goes to show that the app market is being swallowed up by a few key players, while remaining competitors grapple for the remaining fraction of the market.<\/p>\n
Messenger passes the 1.2bn mark <\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, Facebook revealed that more than 1.2bn people use Messenger every month. This signifies a 20% increase since July 2016 when the app first\u00a0passed the one billion mark, and represents 64% of Facebook\u2019s 1.68bn monthly users.<\/p>\n Messenger is rapidly becoming an integral app to people\u2019s lives, and is a primary focus for Facebook right now. Over the past few days it\u2019s announced that Messenger now supports group payments,\u00a0allowing\u00a0users within a group chat to pay either everyone in the group or individual members through a click of the payments icon. This is in addition to its existing person-to-person\u00a0payments within Messenger which has now been around for some time. Facebook suggests the new\u00a0feature will be useful for groups where everyone is chipping in on\u00a0a purchase, like a group gift, or are\u00a0splitting a restaurant bill, etc.<\/p>\n NHS offers tracking app to those at risk of suicide<\/strong><\/p>\n The NHS has announced plans to trial an app which will be offered to individuals at risk of suicide or self-harm. It will monitor the content of texts, and the regularity of phone calls, looking to detect the use of \u201ckeywords\u201d associated with heightened risk, as well as identifying changes in behaviour, such as an increase in late night phone calls. Local services will be alerted through the app if there is cause for concern with a user of the app.<\/p>\n NHS England is planning to invest \u00a335m in digital technology aimed at slashing suicide rates and boosting mental health, and based on the usages stats mentioned above, apps are a sensible focus.<\/p>\n The app space can sometimes be a risky place to play, rife with scams and fraud, not to mention safety and privacy concerns.<\/p>\n The rise of fake apps <\/strong><\/p>\n The problem with apps <\/strong><\/h3>\n