By Over the past few years, photo editing apps have successfully climbed to the top of the market, standing side by side with basic apps like email, browsers, and messenger apps.
According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, around 40% of smartphone users in the top markets regularly used photo editing apps in 2023.
Americans Use Photo Editing Apps the Most, Followed by Japanese and Indians
After their first launch, photo editing apps have quickly found their way to millions of smartphone users worldwide, some of them in a matter of weeks. In 2019, FaceApp went viral after users across social media platforms shared pictures of their older or younger selves generated by the app. The photo editing app powered by artificial intelligence, Lensa AI, also had overnight success, reaching more than 19 million downloads in a single month after adding the Magic Avatars feature.
The surging popularity of these apps has helped them climb to the top of the market, with now 4 in 10 smartphone users across several major markets using them regularly. Still, some nations use photo editing apps more than others.
According to Statista’s Consumer Insights, the United States is the top market for photo editing apps, with 42% of smartphone users using them regularly. Japan and India stand close, with a 42% share among respondents. Statistics show European countries like France and Germany have less photo editing app enthusiasts, with a 37% share among the total number of smartphone users. The UK smartphone users were at the back of this list, with 30% regularly using these apps to brush up their digital presence.
SToday, photo and video apps are among the most popular and highest-grossing app categories across the App Store and Google Play Store. According to a Statista survey, smartphone users will spend roughly $12bn on these apps by the end of 2023, or 20% more than last year. Half of the total revenue comes from in-app purchases. Advertising and paid apps follow with $3bn and $2bn in revenue, respectively.
Statista also expects people worldwide to download 29.1 billion photo and video apps by the end of this year, three billion more than in 2022. By 2027, the entire market is expected to hit $16bn in revenue and more than 37 billion downloads.
