More messages are now sent via messaging app WhatsApp than through SMS texts, according to data from The Economist. WhatsApp handles 30 billion messages each day, compared to 20 billion sent through SMS texts.
The data hints at the growing significance of messaging apps in the tech world. The ten most popular messaging apps have a total of more than 3 billion accounts. To guarantee a large share of the market, Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $22 billion last year.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app with more than 600 million users. Facebook messenger and WeChat follow, each with more than 400 million users.
Last year, WhatsApp users sent more than 7 trillion messages.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The 50 Best Romance Novels to Read Right Now
- Mark Kelly and the History of Astronauts Making the Jump to Politics
- The Young Women Challenging Iran’s Regime
- How to Be More Spontaneous As a Busy Adult
- Can Food Really Change Your Hormones?
- Column: Why Watching Simone Biles Makes Me Cry
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com