Report Looks at Key App Trends, Including the Shifting Social Media Landscape

Sensor Tower has released its latest Mobile phone status reportwhich provides an overview of key trends and changes in application usage, which could help inform your strategic approach.

full, 94 page report includes detailed breakdowns of mobile apps by category and key notes on where app marketers and those working in each sector should look. You can download the entire report here (with email signup), but in this post we’ll look at key trends in social apps.

First and foremost, the report highlights the continued strength of social apps, which remain the most popular type of app based on total downloads.

As you can see, Netflix is ​​also popular, along with newcomers like Temu and ChatGPT. But social apps still dominate overall downloads, highlighting the connecting role these platforms now play in modern life.

As such, they remain key marketing considerations for all brands, while the report also shows that social apps continue to dominate overall time spent.

Specifically regarding social apps, the report highlights several key usage trends, including the rise of in-app purchases (IAPs).

As you can see from these charts, overall time spent in social apps continues to grow, albeit at lower rates than in previous years, while in-app spending has grown significantly, thanks to additional platform services and purchases.

This points to more opportunities for apps to integrate more shopping elements, which could see more Buy Now options in more feeds.

The report also looks at the rise of short-form video and how Meta has benefited from putting Reels in the spotlight.

According to the sensor tower:

“WITHEnsor Tower data reveals that time spent on Reels in the US on Facebook increased by 17 percentage points in December 2024 compared to January 2024, equating to millions of hours of engagement moving to the feature.”

The push to integrate more Reel into more elements of Facebook and IG has brought great benefits, and you can expect Meta to lean even more towards this approach and AI-based recommendations.

The report also looks at the increasing competition for X and how competitors are using the former bird app.

As you can see in this chart, even though Threads is gradually increasing in total time spent compared to X, people are also spending less time in those apps, showing a broader backlash against the format.

“With X as the undisputed leader in time spent in the universe, global time spent for the top 10 apps fell by 10% between 2021 and 2024. While some X users are switching to alternatives, others have simply found other sources of entertainment such as short videos or streaming. “

This is probably why X is now trying to be recast as a “video first” platformto better align with overall usage changes and get its growth back on track.

The report also looks at total downloads by region, including overall app rankings:

And download growth over the past year:

Note the presence of threads in both graphs, which is not surprising given that the application was only launched in mid 2023. But it’s amazing to see how Elon Musk’s changes to X have opened the door for a competitor to climb 300 million active users in such a short period.

There’s also a whole segment in the report on the rise of AI applications, which also includes some sharp charts and data:

Like it or not, AI content creation is on the rise, and as these applications continue to improve, you’ll see more and more of these types of displays around the web.

The full report includes detailed regional breakdowns and many other application categories, and is a good read for anyone working in applications or related sectors. Which almost everyone is, and there are some valuable notes on where things are going and what’s happening in terms of overall app usage.

You can download the Sensor Tower State of Mobile 2025 report here.