Convergence and security-- the main barriers to messaging app growth

There are lots of messaging apps on the market, which means that you can end up needing several if you have friends and contacts on different services. It would be a major breakthrough to have a universal standard for messaging, but is that ever likely to happen?

Telecom and web convergence company tyntec has carried out a survey among smartphone owners in the US and China to uncover trends in consumer messaging app usage and to evaluate the probability of OTT (over-the-top) messaging apps one day becoming a truly universal service that connects the world's population.

The results show that WeChat and Facebook Messenger are the most popular messaging apps in China and the US respectively. However, lack of security and interoperability, or communicating with individuals who are not on the same app, remain top complaints among users.

Both markets identify social networks as the most frequently used one-to-one communication channel with 26 percent citing this in both US and China. Twenty one percent of US respondents use messaging apps most frequently, compared to 13 percent in China.

Chinese respondents are more likely to use multiple messaging apps for one-to-one communication (90 percent) compared to US respondents (60 percent). The most popular reason for using multiple messaging apps in both markets is to be able to reach people across different networks (US: 64 percent, China: 50 percent), followed by the preference of using different apps for different situations (US: 35 percent, China: 48 percent).

In the US 36 percent are frustrated by the lack of messaging interoperability, or ability to message all contacts from a single app -- something that SMS resolves. In contrast, 40 percent of Chinese respondents cite lack of security as the major flaw with messaging apps. This may be down to Chinese users' preference for making in-app purchases.

"What our survey shows is that OTT messaging apps are at a critical point of inflection. App brands must address user concerns and complaints, security and interoperability, if they want to enter the next phase of growth," says Thorsten Trapp, CTO of tyntec. "Especially where regulatory barriers limit their options, finding technological solutions and partners that can bridge the divide and deliver the universal reach and strong security is key. By integrating SMS and phone verification intelligence, messaging apps can make their apps used more broadly while protecting their users".

The full report is available from the tyntec website and there's an infographic summary of the findings below.

Image Credit: Sergey Nivens / Shutterstock