Amid remote work and learning as billions stay home during the pandemic, consumers are spending 4.2 hours a day on apps globally on average, up 30 per cent compared to two years prior. The biggest surge has been spotted in India as consumers spent 80 per cent more time in apps in Q1 2021 than they did in Q1 2019 in the country.

In the January-March period this year, daily time spent passed four hours in the US, Turkey, Mexico and India for the first time. In Brazil, South Korea and Indonesia, it was more than five hours.

"If we live in an attention economy, then there's no doubt where people are currently directing their eyeballs. Our new data for Q1 2021 reveals that consumers are spending more time than ever in apps - and the surges in some countries have sent daily dwell times past five hours," app analytics firm App Annie said in a report on Thursday.

The top apps by downloads, consumer spend and monthly active users (MAUs) across Apple App Store and Google Play were TikTok, YouTube and Facebook in the January-March quarter.

"In Western markets, we can trace the rise of the two market-leading secure messaging products: Signal and Telegram. Signal places first in the UK, Germany and France, and fourth in the US," the report mentioned.

Meanwhile Telegram appears at ninth spot (the UK), fifth (France) and seventh (the US).

As in so many areas, China's breakout app chart is unique and quite different from the rest of the world.

"If there's a theme within it, it's the emphasis on video sharing and editing. TikTok is at number 1, while Kwai is at 2. Meanwhile CapCut - a video editing app for TikTok is at 7. iQIYI, a video streaming service, places at 3," the report said.

Indian app MX Takatak, a local alternative to TikTok, was also seen as the fastest growing app by downloads in the quarter.

TikTok led the top downloads chart, followed by Facebook and Instagram.