Facebook owns the four most popular apps of the 2010s

Along came (mono)poly

Here are all four in their natural habitat

Alan Martin
18 December 2019

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STOP THE PRESS! It looks like Facebook has gotten rather powerful over the last decade. App Annie has revealed the most downloaded apps of the 2010s and the entire top four is filled with Zuckerberg's omnipotent offspring.

Unsurprisingly, Facebook - popular amongst ex-stalkers and oversharers alike - is the most popular app around.

With that in mind, it's hard to believe that the HTC Cha Cha didn't set the world alight back in 2011 with its dedicated Facebook button. Then again, people seem to like condoms and play doh (albeit not usually at the same time), but that didn't stop Amazon killing its Dash Buttons. You can clearly have too much of a good thing.

Just behind Facebook was Messenger, though we're willing to bet that at least half of those downloaders are still furious that the company stripped the functionality from the core Facebook app just to take up more space on your home screen.

In third place: WhatsApp. Acquired for $19bn back in 2014 in a move that the founder definitely in no way regrets, the app still has the same cheerily stupid name it was born with back in 2009, which should give hope to Apprentice contestants everywhere.

Finally, standingly jealousy aside of the podium is Instagram: home to food cataloguers, the super vain, a cottage industry of tedious influencers and a bunch of passive scrollers wondering why their existence isn't as glamorous as all these carefully choreographed lifestyle snapshots.

Obviously this dominance at the top of the charts isn't the sign of a hugely healthy industry - especially when the only reason fifth place Snappety Chat isn't in the list is because the company turned down Facebook's advances in 2013 - but hey ho.

For completeness' sake, here's the rest of the also rans. Microsoft's Skype messenger app takes sixth spot, while teen favourite TikTok takes seventh. UC Browser by Alibaba is eighth, while YouTube and Twitter round up the top ten. Whither LinkedIn? :(

You'll notice something these apps have in common: if they make money, it's mainly via ads. The apps that had the most user spending were Netflix and Tinder. Who knew Netflix and Chill could prove so expensive? µ