Facebook raced past messaging platform WhatsApp to become the most used social media application in Kenya in the three months to December 2023.

This even as the two platforms, which are both owned by US social media giant Meta which also owns Instagram, extended their position as by far the most used social media apps in the country.

Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows 47.5 percent of Kenyans used Facebook during the quarter, while 47.3 percent used WhatsApp.

This is a reversal in positions compared to the preceding quarter which ended in September 2023 during which WhatsApp held the pole position with a 45.9 percent use, followed closely by Facebook which had 45.2 percent.

“The prevalence of Facebook and WhatsApp in social media mentions highlights their extensive adoption and influential presence in the Kenyan digital landscape,” said CA.

Video streaming platform YouTube, which is owned by Google, extended its lead as the third most used social media platform with 21 percent of Kenyans using it. This is an increase from 18.6 percent in the preceding quarter.

Even as the three top social media giants increased their usage, the fast-growing Chinese viral videos platform TikTok saw its reach take a hit to 17 percent down from 19.3 percent.

Instagram was the fourth most used social media platform with 11.8 percent of Kenyans using the app, underlining an increase from 8.9 percent in the preceding quarter ended September 2023.

X, formerly Twitter, grew its user base to 7.9 percent up from 7.5 percent, making it the sixth most popular social media platform in Kenya.

Google, which is now facing stiff competition from Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, saw its user base shrink to 6.9 percent compared to 8.2 percent in the previous quarter.

Telegram retained its user base at 2 percent, while LinkedIn’s usage grew to 0.7 percent – same as Snapchat-- up from 0.5 percent.

At the same time, Opera Mini emerged as the top browser with a user base of 3.4 percent, beating Google’s Chrome, whose usage stood at 2.8 percent.