The use of social networking mobile apps has risen by 30 percent in the past year, making them the third most-used type of app by US smartphone users who download apps, according to Nielsen’s Social Media Report Q3 2011.

60 percent of app-downloading smartphone users have social networking apps on their devices, with only games (67 percent) and weather apps (65 percent) faring better.

The most popular social networking app across all mobile operating systems is Facebook, while Twitter is the fifth most-used app on the BlackBerry and Windows Phone platforms. The other social networking apps in the research were LinkedIn, Myspace and location-based check-in service, Foursquare.

In terms of the age of people using social networking apps, the majority of app users are under the age of 35. Only LinkedIn has a majority of users aged 35 or above with 60 percent falling into this age range.

Other app categories in the research included maps/navigation/search (on 55 percent of smartphones), music (45 percent) and news (42 percent). Banking and finance apps are present on 35 percent of smartphones.