Facebook Messenger, Snapchat decline in popularity

Facebook and Instagram still reign supreme among top apps, even as Messenger and Snapchat are losing steam with young users in the US, a recent study says.

Wayup, a startup that connects college students with local job opportunities, queried 1,000 US college students about their favourite apps and found that Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, free digital wallet Venmo were the top three apps on decline, VentureBeat reported.

The survey was sent out five times throughout 2015 in an effort to suss out larger mobile app trends. The study found that Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, and Venmo were mentioned less and less over the course of a year.

However, the list is a little deceiving. For instance, banking apps en masse saw a decline from September through December of 2015. "Venmo is the clear favourite among payment apps, cited five times more frequently than the next most listed app, PayPal," the study noted.

Also, it's worth noting that Snapchat was on the rise until September hit, when it started to drop off, according to Wayup.

Facebook Messenger saw a slight increase in popularity from February to September, but then it declined twice as much as Facebook from September through December. Facebook is also six times as likely to be listed as a favorite app than Messenger.

The study, however, shows a silver lining for Messenger. The app was mentioned more by freshman than seniors, which means it has an opportunity to capture Generation Z as they age. Messenger's recent partnership with Uber could also possibly reverse its declining trend.