Currently, the Internet has many different messengers for users to communicate with each other. Now the situation with these applications is much better than in the early 2000s. Then there was only “ICQ”, and everyone with crazy stubbornness wished to register in it. But now there are many social networks, mobile instant messengers, VOIP applications and other communication applications, both voice and text. And there is Skype, which, although it became buggy after a deal with Microsoft, but still allows you to arrange entire video conferences. In general, there is no lack of communication tools. And we decided to bring to your attention the rating of instant messengers that are used by citizens of the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. It is worth noting immediately that the picture turned out to be quite interesting.
No. 1. WhatsApp
The first place in the ranking of popular instant messengers is the WhatsApp application. It is not clear why the Russians love him so much, but at the moment about 22 million users "sit" in it. This is an almost absolute record. More only on VKontakte. But this is not a messenger, but a social network. Vatsap is a smartphone application that allows users to communicate without restrictions. Initially, this application was planned as a replacement for SMS in smartphones. All that was needed was access to the Internet. Everything else was provided free of charge. At first it was. The customer base of the messenger grew before our eyes. Soon, developers added an option for sharing images. And in the latest versions, the application already supports group video calls. In general, the messenger has become a kind of Skype. Only works better. There are special business accounts that allow you to communicate with customers at Vatsap. They have many privileges, but messages are paid. Not everyone wants to connect this to himself. And not everyone will approve of him. In general, there is something attractive about him. Not for nothing because he takes first place in the ranking of instant messengers.
No. 2. Viber
The super-successful Viber project ranks second in the ranking of instant messengers in Russia. Although more recently I was on the first. At the moment, its audience is 18.9 million users. Not a bad result. This messenger is very similar to WhatsApp described above. Registration is done by subscriber number. The application scans contacts and automatically adds them to the Viber list, which is very convenient. No need to manually search for users in the application. Using this messenger you can send text messages, call subscribers (completely free), make video calls, draw freehand messages, use stickers, share coordinates, photos and much more. In fact, Viber has long turned into a separate social network with its own unique logic and mechanics. And a huge number of users is an excellent indicator that the application is really in demand and of high quality. However, we continue to consider the popularity rating of instant messengers in Russia.
No. 3. Telegram
The infamous Telegram firmly occupied the third line of the rating. The brainchild of the disgraced creator of the VKontakte social network is gaining a customer base in full swing. And is not going to stop there. The number of people using this particular messenger is 7.3 million people. Great result for a relatively recent application. Telegram tops the rating of safe messengers. After all, everyone remembers how Roskomnadzor demanded that Pavel Durov keys for access to the correspondence of users, threatening to block the messenger. Blocking him failed. They didn’t get the keys either. As a result, intelligence officers were upset, but could not get access to confidential user data.
In its philosophy, Telegram is similar to a mixture of WhatsApp and VKontakte. The same communication options plus news feeds. What is not lovely? Therefore, it is included in the rating of security messengers. And it takes an honorable first place.
No. 4. Skype
The notorious Skype, which was an excellent application for communication, before it fell into the hands of specialists from Microsoft. However, even before the fall, Skype had a pretty decent audience. He once occupied the first places in the ranking of the popularity of instant messengers in the world, but now he barely reaches the fourth place in Russia. The current audience of Skype is 6 million users. A good indicator, but does not pull on the record. Initially, Skype was planned as an application exclusively for making video calls and voice communications. Over time, a messaging system appeared in it. And even later (already at the time of the dominance of Microsoft) stickers appeared. After the developer of Windows acquired a successful project, the popularity of the messenger declined somewhat, as it began to fail and slow down. There is nothing surprising in this, since Microsoft is famous for its ability to buy out a successful project and "kill" it completely. Remember the story with Nokia. However, we continue to consider the popularity rating of instant messengers in Russia.
No. 5. Facebook Messenger
Many readers will be surprised to learn that the Western social network Facebook has its own messenger. Even more surprising will be the information that this project by Mark Zuckerberg ranks fifth in the ranking of instant messengers in Russia with an audience of 1.8 million people. In fact, this messenger is just an addition to the social network. It allows you to communicate using text messages with friends from Facebook. There are no "goodies", as, for example, in "Viber", here is not close. Everything in Spartan is clear and dull. It is not clear where he got such an audience from. But statistics is a stubborn thing. If there is such a mention, then we should write about it. Nevertheless, there is no reason to love Facebook. Especially if you recall his inadequate check for suspicious account actions or rumors about the data of many users who leaked to the Network for no reason. However, we continue to consider the ratings of instant messengers in the Russian Federation.
Number 6. ICQ
The legendary ICQ. Who would have thought that this messenger is still alive! And yet, this is so. And he even ranks sixth in the ranking of instant messengers used in Russia. The audience of this messenger is not very large - only 693 thousand people. And they use it, for the most part, all sorts of geeks and oldfags who want to nostalgic about the glorious past. It was cool to argue. But not to the same extent to support the almost dead community and the messenger itself. However, there are messengers much more “dead”, so the “ICQ” is still doing great. It is worth noting that ICQ is an application exclusively for sending text messages. Everything is like in the good old days. You won’t find any new features like video calls and other relevant things. But "ICQ" is the best place for those who want to spend their time mentally. By the way, in the ranking of instant messengers in the world, the cult "ICQ" takes sixth place. So, there is still gunpowder in the powder flasks!
Number 7. Google talk
Unpopular worldwide messenger launched by Google for financial gain, in the ranking of instant messengers of Russian users takes the "honorable" seventh place. And really, why love this product? But not everyone thinks so. 508 thousand users believe that this messenger has something to love. Google Talk gives users the ability to communicate via voice messaging while using an Internet connection. But this ends the free application options. The messenger’s interface is miserable and buggy. It is not entirely clear how people manage to love to communicate with this. It is worth noting that the developers themselves do not treat their brainchild with due attention. Apparently, this is all a problem. Google+ (a parody of Facebook) has already successfully ceased to exist. Probably the exact same fate awaits this messenger. In any case, his prospects are rather vague. It’s not worth it to become especially attached.
No. 8. Mail.ru Agent
And here is the real dead man. The audience of this messenger is only 505 thousand users, but at the start it was a very popular project. In the "Agent" sat all and sundry. But his best times are in the past. Largely here is the fault of the developer - Mail.ru Group. They crammed such junk into the messenger that many users migrated to much more pleasant WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram. The audience of the "Agent" somehow spread very quickly. It’s not even clear who are those half a million users who still use it? Be that as it may, the Agent is still alive. And it will remain so as long as users remain on Mail.ru, since this company tends to force the web version of the client to be launched in a browser. This is probably the reason for such an impressive number of users. Although it is doubtful that even half of them used the "Agent" for its intended purpose.
Conclusion
So, we examined the rating of instant messengers used by Runet users. What can be downloaded here? "Vatsap", "Viber" and "Telegram" are in the top used. It was predictable. A pleasant surprise was the fact that the legendary ICQ is still alive. And it seemed completely unrealistic that the "Agent" from Mail.ru had such a huge audience. Nothing extraordinary was noticed during the review process. It is only worth reminding users that it is recommended to use only secure messengers.