Most of us with smartphones, tablets and PC’s take mobile messaging apps for granted. Long before we had so called mobile messaging apps, MIT’s Computer Center had the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS). This nifty multi-user operating system allowed up to 30 people to join a group chat – effectively inventing instant messaging before the web was even a thing.

Over 20 years later they developed the Zephyr protocol, bringing together several UNIX programs that allowed users to connect via IP and send messages over a network. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) also took off around this time, allowing anyone to use their platform on their server to create a chat room over the internet.

Instant messaging as we know it today can perhaps best be traced to the mid-to-late 90s when the likes of ICQ, AOL’s AIM and MSN Messenger allowed the average internet user easy access to their simple desktop chat programs.

Today things are much different with the rise of mobile and apps. According to a new infographic from Skilled.co that looks at the ‘5 biggest messenger apps’, 1.4 billion users sent messages in 2016 – a 31.6% from the previous year. By 2018 roughly 80% of all smartphone users are expected to be using such apps!

Leading the charge is WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which both currently have around 1 billion active monthly users. In third in popularity comes China’s WeChat app with 818 million monthly users, who enjoy everything from advanced multiplayer gaming to paying their household bills with the in-built wallet.

Viber, which was developed in Israel and Belarus is popular in eastern-Europe with 249 million monthly users, while Japan’s Line App boasts 220 million – mostly from its home country.

Guest post via Colin Cieloha. To learn how these modern messaging apps compare with each other and how popular they are in different countries, check out the full infographic from Skilled.co today!