Photo and video apps have raked in $12 billion in 2023 – OnlyAccounts report

Social media has evolved over the years into a vast ecosystem. From being a medium that facilitated communication between two parties, it has since become a platform for retail, digital marketing, content creation, and more. Among the various tools utilized by social media users to grow their online presence are photo and video apps.

From photo editing apps like Snapchat to video apps like YouTube, usage is steadily growing. Enticing use cases like live streaming and image editing have also played significant roles. 

According to research by OnlyAccounts, photo and video apps have generated a whopping $12 billion this year. 

Additionally, app downloads hit 29.1 billion. This is a testament to the growing popularity of photo and video apps with users more than willing to empty their pockets to access its versatile features. It’s no surprise that they are among the highest-grossing categories on both Google PlayStore and the App Store.

Another fact worth considering is that photo and video apps are quite popular among smartphone users. Depending on their processing power, smartphones can conveniently handle different tasks including photo editing.

Statista’s Global Consumer Survey found that about 4 out of 10 smartphone owners across many major markets are frequent users of photo editing apps. This trend puts photo editing apps ahead of news apps, video apps, dating apps, and fitness apps. Canada (46%), Spain (44%), the United States (42%), China (40%), and India (40%) make up the top five markets with smartphone owners that use photo editing apps regularly.

Read also: How to transfer your WhatsApp chats, photos, videos from Android to iPhone

Future trends for photo and video apps

Given the current growth rate of photo and video apps, Statista predicts that downloads will hit 37 billion in 2027. With various benefits that cut across businesses and individuals coupled with the growing volume of downloads, the above projection is not entirely impossible. 

After all, FaceApp took the world by storm in 2019 thanks to its ability to allow users to generate images of their younger or older selves. Similarly, Lensa AI, a photo editing app leveraging AI, hit over 19 million downloads in a month after adding the Magic Avatars feature. 

Regarding revenue, there’s a strong chance that the industry will grow its income streams. In-app purchases and advertising are two of the industry’s biggest sources of revenue. Statista expects in-app purchases and paid apps revenue to grow by 50% in 2027. Meanwhile, income from advertising is expected to grow by 66% within the next four years.