Canadians spent 4.4 hours on mobile apps a day in 2021: report

Various popular apps are seen on a smartphone screen. (Helena Hermanns / Relaxnews)

A new report by analytics company App Annie has determined that Canadians spent an average of 4.4 hours a day on mobile apps in 2021, up from 3.9 hours in 2020. By comparison, Americans spent 4.2 hours a day and U.K. users spent four hours a day on mobile apps in the same time period.

In the “State of Mobile 2022” report, App Annie breaks down mountains of mobile data to analyze trends by country.

Canadians spent the majority of their time in 2021 on social and communication apps, with Gen Z users spending the most time on photo and video apps like Instagram, followed by Spotify, Netflix, and TikTok.

Millennials used Facebook the most, followed by Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and Amazon. Gen X and baby boomers used the Weather Network app, followed by the COVID Alert app, OneDrive and Fitbit.

Overall, App Annie’s report determined that Canadian men used Amazon the most in 2021, followed by the Weather Network app, Microsoft Outlook and Twitter, whereas women used Facebook, Facebook messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp the most.

Some of the most downloaded mobile games in Canada in 2021 were “High Heels,” “Count Masters,” “Hair Challenge,” “Bridge Race,” and “Project Makeover.”

Canadian consumers spent the most on mobile games “Genshin Impact,” “Roblox,” “Project Makeover” and “Candy Crush Saga,” in 2021 the report states.

Financial app use was split down generational divides in Canada, with Gen Z most likely to use Wealthsimple Cash, Splitwise, Trust: Crypto & Bitcoin Wallet, Binance and Wealthsimple Trade the most, compared with Millennials, who were most likely to use HouseSigma Real Estate & MLS, GroupNet, Manulife Mobile, Claim 360 and my Sun Life Canada the most.

Gen X and baby boomers were most likely to use Neo Financial, HSBC Canada, belairdirect, XE Currency, and Intact Insurance the most, according to the report.

Total hours spent watching video streaming apps grew 16 per cent worldwide since pre-pandemic levels, according to App Annie’s analysis, with Canada’s increasing by 21 per cent from 2019 levels. Netflix dominated streaming platforms, followed by Amazon Prime and Disney+.

Overall, TikTok saw the biggest growth in usage in Canada in 2021, and was one of the top five social apps worldwide in 2021. Canadian users spent on average 22.6 hours on TikTok a month in 2021.