Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Snapchat is still bigger than Instagram for younger U.S. millennials

If you’re an 18- to 24-year-old, Snapchat is your sweet spot.

A young woman takes a selfie with friends after school in Russia.
A young woman takes a selfie with friends after school in Russia.
Vladimir Smirnov / Getty Images

Snap’s stock is struggling thanks to increased competition from Facebook, but Snapchat is holding off Facebook-owned Instagram in a key area: Younger users.

A new comScore report came out on Thursday that found Snapchat is the third-most popular app among 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S., two spots ahead of Instagram. YouTube and Facebook were ranked first and second, respectively.

A chart of the most popular apps in the U.S. ranked by age group.
The most popular apps in the U.S. by age group.
ComScore

That comes just a few days after an eMarketer report predicted Snapchat will be bigger than Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. by the end of 2017 among 12- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 24-year-olds.

Instagram is still much bigger overall, though, with more than 400 million daily users worldwide. Snapchat has 173 million.

Snap has had a brutal run on the New York Stock Exchange since going public in early March, but a big part of the company’s promise over the last year was that it could capture young, teen users, who may no longer be flocking to Facebook. These two studies don’t change the fact that Snap’s user growth is slowing and its revenue isn’t as strong as expected, but it might help soothe investors to hear that it’s competing with the big dogs in some valuable demographics.

And no matter how you feel about teens and Facebook today, the company is still dominating the U.S. app scene. Facebook was the most popular app in the country among those 18 and older, and is used by 81 percent of mobile app users.

Of the top ten most popular apps based on penetration, Facebook owns three (Facebook, Messenger and Instagram), and Google owns five (YouTube, Google Search, Google Maps, Google Play and Gmail).

A chart of the top ten apps in the U.S. based on penetration among app users. Facebook is first.
The top ten apps in the U.S. based on penetration among app users.
ComScore

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel