Barely a week after its release on 6 July in the US, Australia and New Zealand, mobile game Pokémon Go surpasses WhatAapp, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger in terms of the average amount of time users in these countries spend on the app each day, according to data from SimilarWeb.
The data and analytics company reports that on 8 July, Pokémon Go users spent an average of 43 minutes each on the app. In comparison, WhatsApp users spend 30 minutes, Instagram users 25, Snapchat users 23, and Facebook Messenger users 12.
On 7 July - just one day after the game's release - Pokémon Go had been installed on more Android phones in the US than popular dating app Tinder, SimilarWeb continues, adding that by 8 July, the game was on more than 5% of all Android phones in the US.
Furthermore, because "over 60% of those who have downloaded the app in the US are using it daily... around 3% of the entire US Android population are [daily] users of the app," reports SimilarWeb. This poises the Pokémon GO to overtake Twitter in terms of daily use, as its popularity continues to grow.
The immediate success of the long-awaited game has sent shares in parent company Nintendo soaring, up 24.5% on Monday. The company, listed in Tokyo, has a year-to-date return of 36.32% at the time of writing.
Pokémon Go uses GPS and augmented reality (combining in-app animation with the view from the device's camera) to allow users to find and catch Pokémon in their real-world surroundings.
The game is said to foster physical fitness by encouraging users to walk or cycle to find Pokémon, and has seen numerous users tweet about having sore legs and feet after eagerly playing the game.
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