U.S.: Social Media Popularity, by number of users
ApplicationMillion unique visitors
Facebook (main)169.76
Instagram (main)121.23
Facebook Messenger106.40
Twitter (main)81.47
Pinterest66.88
Reddit47.87
Snapchat45.98
WhatsApp25.58
Messenger by Google17.46
Tumblr16.74
Discord - Chat for Games15.01
Google Hangouts (main)14.19
GroupMe10.75
Kik7.72
TikTok (main)6.24
Skype (main)5.53
TikTok3.76
Telegram3.47
LINE3.15
Google+2.62
WeChat1.48
  • Source: Verto Analytics - Most popular social media apps[/url]
  • Region: United States
  • Time period: Sep 2019
  • Published: Nov 2019

Data Analysis and Insights

Updated: Apr 9, 2024 | Published by: Statistico | About Us | Data sources

Facebook dominates the social media landscape

Facebook, with its main app and Messenger, leads the U.S. social media platforms with a combined audience of 276.16 million unique visitors, showcasing its significant influence and reach among users.

Instagram secures the second spot

Instagram follows as the second most popular platform, boasting 121.23 million unique visitors, indicating its strong visual appeal and user engagement.

Messaging apps remain essential

Facebook Messenger, with 106.40 million unique visitors, underscores the importance of messaging applications in digital communication, acting as a crucial tool for personal and group conversations.

Twitter and Pinterest hold notable positions

Twitter and Pinterest maintain substantial user bases with 81.47 million and 66.88 million unique visitors respectively, highlighting their roles in news dissemination and content curation.

Emerging platforms show growth potential

TikTok, although at the lower end with 6.24 million for its main app and an additional 3.76 million visitors, signals emerging platforms' potential to grow and influence the social media ecosystem.

Snapchat and WhatsApp illustrate diverse preferences

Snapchat and WhatsApp, with 45.98 million and 25.58 million unique visitors respectively, reflect diverse user preferences in communication and social interactions, from ephemeral content to encrypted messaging.

Specialized apps cater to niche audiences

Discord, primarily serving gamers, and LinkedIn, focusing on professional networking (not listed but implied by the context of specialized apps), demonstrate the social media landscape's diversity with 15.01 million and niche audience engagement.

The decline of older platforms

Google+ and Tumblr, with 2.62 million and 16.74 million unique visitors, illustrate the challenges faced by older platforms in maintaining user interest and relevance in the fast-evolving social media landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which social media platform leads the U.S. landscape in terms of audience size?

Facebook dominates, with a combined audience of 276.16 million unique visitors.

What is the second most popular social media platform based on unique visitor numbers?

The second most popular platform is Instagram, with 121.23 million unique visitors.

Which messaging app showcases the importance of digital communication tools?

Facebook Messenger is essential, reaching 106.40 million unique visitors.

Which emerging platform shows potential in the social media ecosystem?

TikTok shows growth potential, with 6.24 million unique visitors for its main app and an additional 3.76 million for its other features.

Terms and Definitions

Social media refers to websites, applications, platforms, and other digital tools that enable users to create and share content or information. These platforms also facilitate social networking by connecting individuals based on common interests, real-life connections, or activities.

In the context of social media, popularity often pertains to the number of users or followers, level of user engagement, frequency of posts, and general visibility or influence on the platform. The popularity of a social media platform can also be demonstrated by the frequency, duration, and nature of its use.

The number of users refers to the total count of individual users who use a particular social media platform, often counted on a periodic basis such as monthly or yearly. This metric is typically used to determine the reach and influence of a specific social media platform.

An active user is a person who uses a particular social media platform regularly, typically within a specific period. This usually means they log in and interact on the platform by posting content, commenting, liking, sharing, etc. The concept of an "active user" helps quantify the degree of engagement on a platform.

User engagement refers to the interaction or involvement of users with a platform or content presented on that platform. This may include activities like liking or reacting to a post, sharing a post, making comments, creating their own posts, or even clicking on links.

Platform reach is a measure of the total number, or potential number, of different people who view, hear, or come into contact with a specific piece of content or advert on a social media platform.

Social Networking is the practice of expanding one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. On social media, this happens through features like adding or accepting friend requests, or following other users.

Influence on social media often refers to the ability of an individual or account to affect the behavior or opinions of their followers through their online activity. It can also refer to a platform's ability to drive trends, topics of conversation, and popular culture more broadly.

Metrics in social media refer to the data elements that can be measured to evaluate the performance or effectiveness of a social media platform or campaign. This could include measures like number of users, likes, shares, comments, conversion rates, the amount of time spent on the platform, etc.
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Social media usage is dramatically increasing worldwide, with platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok leading in popularity and user engagement. Read more »