Facebook had a tremendous year for app downloads. According to new data about 2014 mobile app usage, iOS and Android users downloaded Facebook’s mobile apps more often than any other apps, both in the US and globally. And according to Facebook’s fourth quarter earnings, reported yesterday, over half a billion users now access Facebook exclusively through mobile devices.
A new report from App Annie, an analytics company that tracks app downloads and usage, says that Facebook Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp Messenger, and Instagram were the top four most downloaded apps on iOS and Android worldwide last year. Microsoft-owned Skype was the fifth. In the US only, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram made the top three, with Pandora and Snapchat rounding out the top five, with WhatsApp in 10th.
The case of Facebook Messenger, the number one download on both lists, is particularly interesting. Earlier this year Facebook eliminated the chat feature from its main app, prompting users to instead download Facebook Messenger for their chatting needs. The app quickly rose to the number one spot in the iOS App Store, but also amassed a boatload of one star-reviews (some saying “I wish I could give it 0 stars”) as users weren’t thrilled to essentially be forced to download another new app. Still, it’s a testament to Facebook’s dedicated user base and brand power that Messenger downloads topped the charts.
But while many of us old fogies rely on Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, the younger generation of teen and tween mobile users hasn’t been so keen on the social network. Facebook acquired Instagram in early 2012, and messaging platform WhatsApp in early 2014 as part of an effort to gain foothold in that market. And indeed, it seems to have paid off: Facebook is now an integral part of the mobile experience of millions and millions of smartphone owners using these apps too (700 million on WhatsApp, and 300 million on Instagram, to be exact).
And it hopes to do the same for millions of new smartphone owners. Facebook recently released Facebook Lite for people on low-end Android handsets in emerging markets in Africa and Asia. The 257KB download (compared to 70MB for iOS users and 25MB for the standard Android app) provides a lightweight Facebook experience for phone owners on a 2G connection in locales like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.
According to App Annie’s stats, while downloads were sky high, Facebook didn’t even crack the top 10 in terms of app revenue. But that’s because you can download all of its offerings for free. In actuality, all of those millions of app users are raking in tons of money for Facebook—through mobile advertisements. Facebook made $2 billion in ad revenue last quarter, more than two-thirds of its total $3.59 billion in total ad revenue for 2014. Clearly, it’s only begun to start solving the puzzle of mobile monetization.
Breaching $10 billion in revenue for the first time with more than 2 billion active mobile users across its app offerings, Facebook has never looked so powerful.
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