App usage in the US rose by more than six hours per month year-on-year in Q2, spurred by Covid-19 (coronavirus) lockdowns, figures from Strategy Analytics showed.

A report by the company showed social media and business offerings made the greatest gains, as the average time spent on all apps increased by 20 minutes per day compared with Q2 2019. It said user engagement was up 21 per cent.

Minutes spent on business and finance apps rose by 67.6 per cent. Within social media, Facebook topped the tables, with users averaging 19 hours per month, followed by Google Chrome (12 hours) and YouTube (10.6 hours).

However, Strategy Analytics noted YouTube’s figure was 12 per cent lower as people opted for larger screens. Netflix was also affected, with usage down 33 per cent.

Strategy Analytics director Nitesh Patel noted time spent on transport apps dropped 44 per cent, while travel and location apps fell 35 per cent.