WhatsApp is a real hit in France, according to data from a recent FIFG study commissioned by Lemon. In total, some 30 million French people have used the application over the past 3 months, i.e. more than half of those aged 18 and over.
WhatsApp, the most downloaded application in France in 2022, was installed by 7 out of 10 French people since its launch in 2009and would be now used by 57% of Internet users over 18 years old. 8% have not used the app recently, 7% have already uninstalled the app, 15% have never used WhatsApp and 13% of respondents do not have a phone.
Men and women seem to be almost equally likely to use WhatsApp, with respectively 56% and 58% of respondents, but the application seems especially popular among managers (77%), against 52% among workers. Ile-de-France also seems more fond of the application, with 64% of Ile-de-France residents, compared to 56% in the provinces.
30 million French people use WhatsApp
In total, these are therefore very close to 72% of French people who have already installed WhatsApp on their device, which proves Meta’s dominance in the messaging application market. The application would be especially popular among young people aged 25 to 34 with 71% of followers, while only 44% of users are found among those over 65.
It therefore represents 30 million active users in France. To put that number in context, Meta’s app is currently used by around 2 billion users. Only Facebook (2.9 billion) and YouTube (2.6 billion) can boast of doing better. In 2022, WhatsApp was also present on the podium of the most downloaded applications, behind TikTok and Instagram.
9 out of 10 people are members of a group on WhatsApp
According to information collected by the FIFG, 91% of French people are members of at least one group on WhatsApp. A majority of our fellow citizens are members of 1 to 4 groups, while a third say they belong to at least 5 groups, and 16% of at least 10 different groups.
Among the most popular group categories are, unsurprisingly, family and friends, tied at 74% of respondents saying they are part of it. Next come groups dedicated to work at 54%, then groups linked to an event (birthday, etc.) at 47%.
To improve its groups, WhatsApp has recently added many interesting features. For example, it is possible to leave a group discreetly, and the company has also introduced the Community tab.
WhatsApp is almost unanimous among the French
According to those interviewed, their experiences on WhatsApp are generally very positive. 97% say they are very happy with their friendly or family groups (96%), or work communities (87%) or associations (93%).
However, some Internet users have already experienced bad experiences on messaging app. Among the main inconveniences that were noted, we can cite incessant notifications at 63%, too many messages received at 58% or even the fact of feeling obliged to answer at 51%.
As in all groups, some users can also be annoying (38%), and sometimes they even start a personal conversation within the said group (45%), which obviously has the gift of annoying the other participants.
Millions of French people are addicted to WhatsApp
The FIFG study also highlights a group of users quite addicted to the messaging application. If 7 out of 10 French people say they are able to do without the application in their daily life, 8 million French people (28%) say that such an eventuality seems impossible to them.
Among them, we find 32% of 18-24 year olds, 30% of 25-34%, and the figure is decreasing slowly to reach 22% among those aged 65 and over. We know that the popularity of social networks exploded in 2022 with a new record for time of use, and the figures revealed by this new study do not suggest no decline in their popularity in the coming years.
