Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

1. Facebook

It is arguably the leading app in the world, and not surprising, it supported communication during the Zenith of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, it has consistently been ranked top 10.

According to Statista – an online portal providing data on the global digital economy – industrial sectors, consumer markets, public opinion, media, demography and macroeconomic trends- it is the most popular app publisher world wide, based on downloads.

In the second quarter of 2021, it had roughly 2.89 billion monthly active users.

It was ranked top hogging 85 per cent of marketshare in 2020. The Facebook family includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.

2. TikTok

This is one of the most downloaded apps in 2021. By April of last year, it had registered over 2 billion downloads globally.

Initially it was seen as a Generation Z (targeting about 72 million people born between 1997 and 2012), though it has experienced an influx of new users due to world-wide lockdown measures occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As more users are stuck at home and on their phones looking for new ways to entertain themselves Tik Tok has grown with this demand.

Social media users are already attracted to video, and when you combine that with TikTok’s intelligent algorithm, you create a nearly irresistible app for users.

Kenyans have enthusiastically taken to the app and last year, was ranked fifth with 26 per cent of the market share by Statista.

3. Instagram

Listed by Statista as the third most popular app in Kenya last year, the app commanded social network market share of 63 per cent.

This photo and video sharing app is also popular among Generation Z, and Millennials (those people who reached young adulthood in the early 21st century).

The App holds its own especially in marketing, as according to Statista, brands uploaded an average of 0.7 posts to the social platform every day in 2018.

It is popular with marketers, who engage with their audiences on Instagram’s features, which include Instagram TV (IGTV), Instagram Lives, and Instagram Stories.

In Summer of 2020, Instagram announced their newest feature, Reels, which like TikTok, enables users to create short videos using audio and video tracks and share them with their instagram community

4. WhatsApp

This App has approximately 2 billion users globally, and the leading messaging app in the world.

Through personalised messages, it provides opportunities for businesses to keep in contact with their clients and customers.

It is estimated that 97 per cent of internet users in Kenya use the app, having gained popularity with the business community because of the Covid-19 pandemic that left many customer service departments under immense pressure to meet client expectations while keeping response times low.

It has come in handy particularly in competitive industries like eCommerce, travel and hospitality, where customer service is a priority.

5. Telegram

This is another popular free messaging app with about 500 million active monthly users, which can be used to send photos, videos, and different types of documents in addition to regular messages.

Telegram supports mentions, hashtags, and has cross platform availability, making it convenient for businesses and large organizations.

It also makes it possible to create groups of up to 200,000 and to create both private and public channels, which you can invite your customers to join.

In Kenya, it has been used for organising fundraising meetings for funerals among others, in addition to providing a variety of marketing opportunities since users can share images and information about new products or services and provide links to landing pages, creating a chatbot to answer customer queries.

6. Moj

Moj is a Chinese App with a simple user interface that makes it easy for people to interact through comments, likes, shares, and so on.

The new app also allows users to create short videos of up to 15 seconds and add various effects to personalize them. It debuted in July 2020 and is quickly racking up millions of viewers.

It has over 80 million active monthly users who spend an average of 34 minutes on the app every day.

7. Zoom

This app, along with a few video conferencing apps, was one of the most successful in the past year.

In April 2020, Zoom reported over 300 million daily participants and the app featured 38 million downloads in January 2021 alone. This boom is directly linked to the Covid-19 crisis.

As many users across the globe had to continue working from home, they used Zoom as their video-conferencing app of choice.

Zoom allows users to conduct video calls for business or for keeping in touch with loved ones.

8. Snapchat

Snapchat has been downloaded well over 200 million times and is especially popular with a young demographic of people 34 and under. In Kenya, it was ranked sixth per cent by Statista, behind Facebook, YouTube, instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Snapchat can be used both for fun and business, as it has a feature called Instant Create that lets users quickly and easily make ads and share them based on location in order to make sure they are seen by the intended target demographic. In this way, Snapchat can be a useful marketing tool.

9. Messenger

Like WhatsApp and Facebook itself, Facebook Messenger is another heavy hitter and consistent favourite in the app store.

Like many of the other apps on this list, Facebook Messenger can be used effectively for both personal and professional communication.

Whether sharing photos with friends or sharing a new product or service with followers, this app allows you to reach your audience quickly and easily. The app supports free text and video charts.

10. MX TakaTak

Like Moj, MX TakaTak is another video sharing app from India that lets users create their own videos, see what’s trending at a given time, and search for videos on topics of interest.

However, it will be a hard sell in Kenya, with the likely users being the small Indian population, as it does not support content in English, making it possible for international brands and influencers to get involved.

It has about 10 million daily users and about 45 million monthly users.