WhatsApp, Facebook and UC Browser are India’s most popular apps: Report

UC Browser is the third most used app in India after social networking giant Facebook and mobile messaging service WhatsApp, according to a new report.

UC Browser also outruns the app from Google in terms of total monthly hours spent in India. (CC/Sam Azgor)

UC Browser is the third most used app in India after social networking giant Facebook and mobile messaging service WhatsApp, according to a new report.

Based on the data provided by mobile advertising company Quettra, the report titled "What Makes Indians Tick" offers a glimpse into India's mobile app market and ranked apps based on the total hours spent in a month.

According to the findings, Indian users spend five million more monthly hours on UC Browser than on Chrome.

UC Browser also outruns the app from Google in terms of total monthly hours spent in India.

Apart from UC Browser, UC Browser Mini and UC Browser HD are among the top six browser app list in India, the report added.

Android owners in India and the US show big differences in usage of mobile apps, with Indians far more likely to use utility apps, the mobile web and shopping apps according to the data.

UC Browser is also the world's top third-party mobile browser with over 16% market share, according to StatCounter, an independent analytics firm.

The browser clocked in more than half of mobile browsing market share (54.42%) in October 2015 in India and attained a share of 49.05% in October 2015 in Indonesia, according to StatCounter.

Both India and Indonesia have become the new frontier for mobile internet, driven mostly by the rapid growth of their connected population.

The popularity of UC Browser attributes to its fast speed and easy access to local content and services, as well as the powerful distribution network.

UCWeb Inc. is a business within Alibaba Group's mobile business division.