One in five smartphone users call from apps

One in five Dutch smartphone users make calls using message apps like Skype, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Five percent often call from so-called instant messaging apps and another 16 percent do so every now and then.

This is according to a study done by Multiscope among a representative group of nearly 1,400 Dutch people, NU reports.

A total of 52 percent of Dutch smartphone users have used a message app to make a call at some point. With apps like Skype and WhatsApp calls can be made through the internet, and thus do not use call minutes. Half of the 52 percent of Dutch indicated that they expect to make calls through the internet more and more in the coming years. They expect that they won't need an call minutes at all over three years.

This means that 48 percent of Dutch smartphone users have never made a call through a message app. 14 percent even indicated that they didn't know that messaging apps had a cll function.

WhatsApp is the most popular app to us for calling, with 86 percent of the people who call through messaging apps using WhatsApp. Skype came in second with 19 percent and Facetime got third place.