Facebook was again the top smartphone app in 2016 in the US, according to research by Nielsen. The social networking app had more than 146 million average unique users each month, a growth of 14 percent from last year. Facebook Messenger came in second with over 129 million users each month, followed by YouTube with more than 113 million. The remaining apps in the top ten are Google Maps, Google Search, Google Play, Gmail, Instragram, Apple Music and Amazon App.
Among the top 10 smartphone apps, the apps with highest year-over-year change were Amazon App and Instagram, with 43 percent and 36 percent growth in users from 2015, respectively.
Smartphone penetration grew to 88 percent of US mobile subscribers at the end of September from 86 percent at the start of the year. In Q3, a majority of subscribers used Android (53 percent) and iOS (45 percent) devices to access their apps. Two percent of US smartphone owners used a Windows phone, followed by 1 percent on a BlackBerry.
