MoffettNathanson: Facebook apps surge in Q4 while Periscope drives Twitter downloads

Facebook saw a 56 percent year-over-year increase in worldwide downloads of its Android and iOS apps during the fourth quarter, according to MoffettNathanson. Citing data from Apptopia, the market research firm said Facebook Groups demonstrated the most growth with 181 percent, while Messenger (51 percent), WhatsApp (74 percent), Facebook (59 percent) and Instagram (36 percent) all showed impressive year-over-year growth.

Twitter also saw solid growth, although the increased uptake was driven primarily by the company's Periscope offering. Combined Android and iOS downloads for Twitter's apps in the fourth quarter totaled 32.9 million, up 50 percent from the same period in 2014. Twitter saw 17.7 million downloads, marking a 35 percent increase, but Vine downloads were down 27 percent year-over-year. Periscope's 8.8 million downloads during the quarter buoyed the portfolio totals; without Periscope's downloads Twitter's portfolio grew only 10 percent from the year-ago period. Article