The shift towards instant messaging services signals the terminal decline of SMS
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
Britons sent 1.6bn fewer text messages last year as the rise of instant messaging services threatens to kill off traditional phone habits.
The number of mobile messages sent in the second quarter, including SMS and MMS, dropped to 5.4bn, according to the latest data from Ofcom.
That was down from more than 7bn in the same three-month period last year, representing a drop of more than a fifth.
The figures underscore how mobile messaging habits are changing as phone users increasingly turn to alternatives such as WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook parent company Meta, is the most popular instant messaging service in the UK, reaching 90pc of adults. The app uses end-to-end encryption, meaning messages can only be seen by the sender and recipient.
Its popularity continues to grow despite the rollout of Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbot earlier this year, which sparked a backlash from users who described the tool as “bug-ridden rubbish”.
Other encrypted messaging services such as Signal and Telegram are also growing in popularity, while Gen Z phone users often use social media platforms such as Snapchat and Discord, a chat room service popular with gamers.
Analysts said the sharp decline in text messaging over the last year may have been driven by the increased use of WhatsApp by businesses, as well as new Ofcom rules requiring network providers to block spam messages.
Mobile phone operators are now blocking at least 600m messages a year, with around 100m spam messages reported in the year to April.
Typically, these scam or spam texts masquerade as messages purported to be from a recruiter with a job opportunity, a courier with a delivery, or a bank checking the veracity of a payment.
The more elaborate scams, in which the scammer builds a relationship of trust with the victim and then persuades them to hand over money, is known as “pig butchering”.
Recommended
Ofcom began cracking down on scam messages last year. In October this year, the regulator unveiled plans to toughen up even further, including tightening the rules on companies that provide automated mass-texting services for businesses.
Analysts also said that traditional texts were being supplanted by the rise of so-called Rich Communication Services (RCS) messages on both Android and iOS devices. RCS messages are an updated version of traditional SMS and MMS, offer high-quality picture and video sharing and features such as typing indicators and read receipts.
Kester Mann, an analyst at CCS Insight, said: “The rise of WhatsApp and other messaging services has relegated the humble text message to a bit-part role in the way many people now communicate.
“Support for RCS messaging on both Android and iOS devices by the leading UK operators is likely accelerating the decline of traditional text messaging.”
The decreasing volume of texts has been accompanied by a decline in calls, as younger Britons are increasingly reluctant to pick up the phone.
The number of voice calls made from mobile phones fell by 2.4bn, or 6pc, to 37bn minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines dropping by 9.5pc to 6.2bn minutes.
In a Uswitch survey last year, a quarter of people aged 18 to 34 said they would never answer a phone call, and half preferred social media to using the phone.
Meanwhile, surging demand for streaming and social media apps helped drive data usage up by 302 Petabytes, or more than 11pc, to 2,911 Petabytes.
Separate figures from Ofcom showed UK adults spent an average of four and a half hours online a day – up by 10 minutes from last year. Smartphones now account for the majority of time spent online, representing 75pc of time for men and 79pc for women.
Recommended
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email

source