This statistic presents the number of registered Viber chat app users from June 2011 to March 2020. As of that month, the mobile messenger had almost 1.17 billion registered users worldwide. The chat app had been acquired by Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten in February 2014 for 900 million U.S. dollars, making it the second-most expensive acquisition of the e-commerce platform up to date. As of October 2018, Viber users in the United States generated an average of 9.8 monthly usage sessions, ranking the messaging app behind LINE, Kik, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger in terms of user engagement.

As of February 2025, two billion users were accessing the WhatsApp messenger on a monthly basis. The app’s reach in usage penetration is particularly strong in markets outside the United States, and it is one of the most popular mobile social apps worldwide. WeChat amassed over 1.38 billion users, and Facebook Messenger amassed around 947 million users worldwide. Instant messaging is a type of online chat which offers real-time text transmission via internet. Since the appearance of the smartphone and the subsequent explosion of mobile apps, low-cost or free chat and social messaging apps have proven themselves as a cheap alternative to operator-based text messaging via SMS. Many messenger apps offer features such as group chats, the exchange of graphics, video and even audio messages as well as stickers or emoticons.

Introduction

Surprising Viber Statistics: Viber is a free messaging and calling application that allows people to connect with their friends and family globally. This app was launched in 2010, and it soon became popular because of its many easy and effective features. Viber allows users to send text messages and voice and video calls, as well as share photos and videos.

Now, the app can be used on many devices, such as smartphones and computers, making it convenient for everyone. Viber is mostly known for its strong security system, which protects users' conversations with end-to-end encryption. To date, the app has more than 1 billion registered users and is widely used in many countries, especially in Eastern Europe and Asia. Its user-friendly design and useful features continue to attract new users every year.

In 2018, 83 percent of the population using the internet in Hungary chatted via Facebook Messenger on a weekly basis. The second most popular messaging program in the country was Viber with a user share of nearly 40 percent.

In September 2022, the Messenger app developed by Facebook had more than 302 thousand daily active users in Sweden. Skype ranked second with approximately 265 thousand DAU, while Viber - Safe Chats and Calls, in third position, had almost 200 thousand DAU among Android users in the Scandinavian country during the examined period.

In March 2025, around ************** of respondents in Russia used WhatsApp, which was the largest share compared to other messenger applications. The share of Russians who used Telegram reached ** percent, while the third-most popular messenger was VKontakte Messenger. Messenger use in Russia Almost ** percent of Russians used instant messaging platforms in 2024, as compared to ** percent in Brazil and ** percent in the United Kingdom (UK). Among internet users, the share of online chat and messenger services consumers in Russia stood at **** percent, same as the global average. WhatsApp in Russia While other social media platforms by Meta Platforms are banned in Russia, WhatsApp can be used in the country. Users aged 25 to 44 years spent the most time on the messenger in the first seven months of 2024. The penetration rate of WhatsApp in Russia stood at around ** percent as of 2022, which was lower than in Brazil and Italy, but higher than in Sweden and Australia.

When it comes to Poles communicating with their friends and family through mobile apps, the Facebook messaging app was the most frequently chosen mobile app. As of February 2022, 86 percent of Polish people used the Messenger application to communicate with others. WhatsApp ranked second, with 54 percent of respondents using the app. Polish instant messaging client Gadu-Gadu came second to last with approximately one in 10 respondents communicating through the app.

The profile of a Messenger user 

Mobile communication in Poland has been dominated by Facebook messenger. In January 2022, there were over 18 million Messenger users in Poland, which constituted an increase of roughly 1.5 million users compared to the year before. The majority of the app’s users were between 25 and 34 years old, with women dominating the age group share. Moreover, the same age group made up the highest share of the social media advertising audience Facebook, Instagram, and FB Messenger in Poland.

Mobile messaging 

 Mobile messaging is a type of instant online chat that offers real-time text transmission via the internet. In Poland, mobile devices are used by almost 63 percent of users to access the virtual world, with Samsung and Xiaomi holding the largest share of the smartphone market in the country. Therefore, Poles are open to communicating with others through mobile apps. Just over 32 percent of average internet users and almost 68 percent of Poles threatened with Internet addiction use the internet every day or nearly every day to contact friends via messengers such as Messenger (Facebook), WhatsApp, or GG (Gadu-Gadu). Moreover, almost half of Poles enjoy using emoticons as they find the virtual smileys an important way of expressing their emotions.

According to a September 2021 survey conducted in the Philippines, an overwhelming majority of ** percent of the country's adult population used Messenger to communicate with family members and/or close friends. Following by a huge margin was Viber which was used by **** percent of surveyed Filipino internet users.

In 2021, WhatsApp was the most popular social media messenger in Russia, with a usage index of ** percent. The usage index of one of WhatsApp's main competitors in the region - Telegram, was at ** percent. Viber ranked third, used by nearly ******** of Russians who had it installed on their devices.

WhatsApp in Russia

As of August 2021, WhatsApp accounted for the largest volume of monthly active users at nearly ** million users in Russia, which was more than twice as much as the monthly reach of its Russian analog – Telegram. Furthermore, it was the most used messenger application during the self-isolation period in the country exceeding *** million views on March 17, 2020. The number of WhatsApp users was projected to reach **** million by 2025.

Social media usage during the pandemic in Russia

In 2020, significant traffic growth on social media platforms was attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak. As of April 2020, messengers were the most popular means of communication, as per over ** percent of respondents who worked remotely. Of roughly ** percent of Russians who reported more frequent usage of social messengers after the pandemic, nearly ** percent meant to keep the usage levels at the same extent after the abolition of restrictions.