Facebook is now the most popular Android app
Disregarding the Android Market, which most Android users have in order to get apps in the first place, Facebook is the most popular Android app among adult smartphone owners in the US. That's right: Facebook is beating out all other apps on Android, including the ones made by Google.
The latest data comes from Nielsen, which ranked mobile apps by active reach: the percentage of Android owners who used the app within the past 30 days. The metrics research firm analyzed usage data from its proprietary device meters put on the smartphones belonging to thousands of participating consumers.
As you can see in the chart above, Nielsen broke down users by age group. Facebook had an 80 percent active reach for 18-24 year-olds, 81 percent for 25-34 year-olds, and 77 percent for 35-44 year-olds. In all three categories, the other apps in the top five were from Google (again, I'm excluding the Android Market): Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube. After the top five, all the other apps not only vary much more by age group, but they also have a noticeably lower reach.
It's worth noting that Palo Alto's Android app has actually gained in popularity from the results we saw just a few months ago. In July 2011, Facebook was the most popular third-party app on Google's Android platform, and was third if we include Google's first-party apps. Among females, it was even more widely used than all of Android's first-party apps.
It's really no wonder Facebook is pushing forward with its support for Android. The latest release of the app, by the way, is Facebook for Android 1.8, released just last week.
See also:
- Women use Facebook more than any other Android app
- Facebook Platform on Mobile comes to Android
- Facebook announces Android app with 2x faster photos
- Facebook by mobile platform: iPhone first, Android second
- Facebook launches Facebook Messenger app for Android, iPhone
- Facebook: "We're going to become a mobile company"