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The 10 Most Popular Apps of 2015

2 minute read

There are hundreds of thousands of apps available for your smartphone, whether you own an iPhone or an Android handset. But only a handful of apps are actually used by millions of people across the country.

A recent survey from Nielsen lists the most popular smartphone apps of the year. The results indicate that Google and Facebook dominate the mobile app space.

Facebook’s primary app proved to be the most popular of 2015 in the U.S., with more than 126 million unique users on average. Google, meanwhile, owns five out of the 10 most frequently used apps. YouTube placed in second with around 97 million unique users, and Facebook Messenger placed in third with about 96 million.

Nielsen

Facebook Messenger grew the most year-over-year compared to any other app on the list, with a 31% jump in the app’s number of average unique users from 2014. This is particularly important for Facebook as the company continues to push the app as a one-stop-shop for your travel and shopping needs in addition to functioning as a communications tool.

Apple has two apps on the list: Apple Music and Apple Maps. It’s another sign that Apple’s navigation app, which has struggled since its launch in 2012, is finally starting to see some success. It’s also a positive sign for Apple Music since the new streaming service has only been available for about six months.

There’s a huge discrepancy in the number of unique Apple Music users recorded by Nielsen (about 54 million) and the number of paid subscribers Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced in the past (6.5 million). This is likely because Nielsen is counting the total number of people using the app in general to play their own music in addition to those who use Apple’s streaming service, as Re/code pointed out.

The results are based on survey answers from thousands of smartphone users across the U.S., as Nielsen explains here.

This Is What Your Facebook Profile Looked Like Over the Last 11 Years

The Original Facebook Group Page, 2004.
The Original Facebook Group Page, 2004. Before people realized how awesome pictures are.Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2005.
Facebook Profile Page, 2005. Back when Facebook looked a little bit like MySpace. Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page Facelift, 2005.
Facebook Profile Page Facelift, 2005. The "the" is finally dropped.Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2006.
Facebook Profile Page, 2006. You no longer need to be reminded "this is you" at the top of your profile page.Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2007.
Facebook Profile Page, 2007. Every profile update still had to begin with "is," forcing you to talk about yourself in the third person. Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2008.
Facebook Profile Page, 2008. The wall. Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2009.
Facebook Profile Page, 2009. It only took five years for Facebook to create easy-to-find privacy settings. Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2010.
Facebook Profile Page, 2010. Facebook starts to get pretty. Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2011.
Facebook Profile Page, 2011. Zuckerberg realizes that people love pictures, usually of animals.Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2012.
Facebook Profile Page, 2012. The timeline allows you (or your parents) to trace your life from birth to death.Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2013-2014.
Facebook Profile Page, 2013-2014. Facebook introduced a new app, Paper, on Monday.Courtesy of Facebook
Facebook Profile Page, 2014-2015. Facebook updated both the newsfeed algorithm and the privacy settings.
Facebook Profile Page, 2014-2015. Facebook updated both the newsfeed algorithm and the privacy settings.Courtesy of Alex Fitzpatrick/Facebook

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