Using a messaging app is extremely popular among younger age groups who spend time online but the rate of its use declines progressively with age. Statec estimated that between 80% and 85% of 16 to 44-year-olds using the internet spend time on messaging apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat or others. Meanwhile 60% to 68% of those between 45 and 74 years of age use such services.

Whatsapp--bought by Meta for $16bn in 2014--stood out as the preferred messaging app among Luxembourg residents with 91% reporting using it. Facebook Messegner occupied the second place with 60% of respondents to the Statec survey saying the used it. Meanwhile Snapchat (20%), Skype (19%), Signal (12%), Viber (10%), Telegram (7%) and Wechat (2%) fared considerably less well. However those overall statistics hide a preference in some age groups. Facebook Messenger had the most users in the 25-34 age group (77%), while Snapchat was the platform of choice for 16-24 year olds (78%). Skype’s numbers saw a bump in those among 65 to 74 year-olds (36%).

Messaging apps appear to be the corner stone of internet usage with 89% those having the programme or app installed using it every day. Women (77%) tend to use them a bit more than men (72%) and a bit more as well. Nearly one in two (49%) of women spend more than an hour a day on such apps, with 39% of men registering over 60 minutes each day. 65% of those between 16 and 24 years of age spend more than an hour a day on messaging apps while 84% of 65 to 74 year olds limit their access to less than an hour a day.