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How many text and photo messages are sent using the top messaging apps globally each day?
Hello! It is my pleasure to respond to your query about the number of text messages and photos sent via the top messaging apps globally each day. Please note that much of the information available on the internet is dated (most statistics and research reports are from 2013 or earlier), so I’ve included the dates with all the research so you can see how recent the data is. Additionally, please note that, unfortunately, many of the specifics which you are looking for were not available (though some information was available behind paywalls). I have provided all the specifics I was able to find, as well as a significant amount of general information about global text messaging and photo messaging behaviors. I hope this gives you enough information toward your pitch deck, and that your presentation is a successful one!
GLOBAL MESSAGING & PHOTO MESSAGING INFORMATION
According to Portio Research (in 2015), 8.6 trillion text messages are sent each year. According to TextRequest, in the month of June 2014 (the most recent data available), around 561 billion texts messages were sent globally (averaging to about 18.7 billion texts sent per day). They also report that between 2011 and 2014, global text messages grew nearly 140% (from 395 billion to 561 billion text messages sent each month). Texters in the US were responsible for nearly half of all texts sent worldwide (even though the US holds only 4% of the world’s population). TextRequest also states that 81% of Americans text “semi-regularly”, and they estimate that each American texter sends out more than 30 text messages every day.
A report by the Pew Research Center released in April 2015 showed that the most-used feature on smartphones is the text/SMS feature, and that 97% of smartphone users had texted “within the past week”. A 2013 report by Experian Marketing Services showed that the biggest demographic of texters was the 18 – 24 year olds (128 texts per day), followed by the 25 – 34 year olds (75 texts per day), then followed by the 35 – 44 year olds (52 texts per day). The article sums up by saying, “American adults under 45 years old send and receive an average of 2550 messages a month, or about 85 text messages per day”.
According to the Telegraph, between 2008 and 2013, the number of monthly mobile messages sent per person increased in the US by nearly 14%, in France by over 40%, in Germany by over 13%, and in Australia by nearly 11%.
According to Contently, the following messaging apps were the most popular for smartphone users in the country listed (as of January 2015):
• China: WeChat, QQ, Sina Weibo
• Germany: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype
• Japan: LINE, Twitter, Facebook Messenger
• UK: Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype
• US: Facebook Messenger, Skype, Twitter
Additionally, Contently reports that most text messagers exhibit “multi-messaging behaviors” in using multiple apps to send messages and photos.
In March 2015, a report from Informate Mobile Intelligence revealed that Americans prefer texting over making phone calls, spending an average of 26 minutes each day sending and receiving texts, while smartphone users in three-quarters of the countries reviewed spent the least amount of time texting.
With regard to photos, according to The Atlantic and Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report (2015), an average of 1.8 billion digital images are loaded (globally) each day totaling around 657 billion photos per year.
Another TextRequest article titled “63 Texting Statistics That Answer All Your Questions” (https://www.textrequest.com/blog/statistics/) might help you find other interesting statistics for your pitch deck. Additionally, I’ve included a variety of links to research reports showing a vast array of statistics for many of the messaging apps (like WhatsApp and Instagram).
STATISTICS
• 740,741 WhatsApp messages are sent
• 4630 SnapChats are posted
• 4595 SMS messages are sent
• 694 Instagram photos are posted
The statistics included for each messaging app below are listed on this Quip Spreadsheet: https://quip.com/TWImAUJPpuXA
900 million Facebook Messenger App users sent 31.25 million messages per minute (2016) and 9.5 billion photos per month (or an average of 316 million per day). According to the Verge, "... activity on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp combined is now three times the global volume of SMS messages, at 60 billion messages a day compared to 20 billion". 90% of users use the app to send messages, while 48% of users use the app to send photos (1/14/16). As of 9/24/14, 38% of global mobile users (not including those in China) used Facebook Messenger, with the Philippines being the country with the largest population of users (59%).
One billion WhatsApp users (2016) sent and received 64 billion messages daily, including 1.6 billion photos each day. WhatsApp’s record for the most messages processed in one day was 64 billion messages (in 2014).
400 million Instagram users posted 48,611 photos per minute, or about 70 million photos per day. Most Instagram users (80%) are from outside of the US, while the projected number of Instagram users (for 2016) in the US is 89.4 million (2/2/16). As of 11/17/2015, 40 billion photos had been shared on Instagram. The average number of photos posted to Instagram daily is 80 million (6/13/16). As of 9/1/15, 85 million Instagram users used the app's direct picture messaging feature (about 25% of total Instagram users).
There are 250 million (Feb 2013) users of iMessage who, as of 6/1/13, had sent 800 billion total text imessages, however, there is no data available on the average number sent each day, nor on how many of the messages included photos.
275 million users sent and received 89 million KIK messages by 11/11/14, though no more specific data is available. There are KIK users in 230 countries worldwide, though 68% of them are in the US (11/6/14).
As of 8/4/14, there were 608 million users of Viber, though no data is available on the number of messages or photos sent by users. 40% of social messaging users in Ireland use Viber (9/1/14). As of 10/28/14, Viber was used in 193 countries, with only 7.2% being from North America.
As of 2/8/15, there were 600 million global users of LINE, with 25 million of them being in the US. As of 9/14, there were 100 million downloads of the LINE camera app, though no data is available on how many text messages or photos were sent. As of 1/31/16, 95% of female Japanese smartphone users (ages 10 - 19) used LINE, while just over 89% of males used the app. More than 67% of LINE users are from Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.
As of 9/15, there were 160 million KakaoTalk users, though no data is available on how many text or photos messages they have sent. KakaoTalk is used in 230 countries in 15 languages (9/9/14). 93% of South Koreans smartphones users have KakaoTalk installed.
As of May 2016, there were 762 million users. By May 2014, just over 84% of users were using the app for text messaging, though no specific data is available on how many messages or photos users have sent via this app. This app is larger in the Asian market (rather than US), with China holding the top number of users (Q12015) at almost 70%. 60% of global millennials use WeChat (2/11/15).
SMS
In 2015, 6 billion SMS messages were sent every day in the US, while 20 billion were sent every day worldwide. Globally, over 350 billion text messages are sent each month, though no data is available on how many of them include photos.
Thank you again for your question, and I hope this response gives you enough of what you need, though I wish I'd been able to locate more specifics for you! Please Ask Wonder again for any other questions you may have!