Indonesia ranked second worldwide in total smartphone usage time throughout 2025. According to the State of Mobile 2026 report released by Sensor Tower, Indonesian users spent a combined 414 billion hours on iOS and Android applications over the year.
This places Indonesia just behind India, which led globally with 1.23 trillion hours, and ahead of the United States, which recorded 385 billion hours.
Globally, smartphone users spent a total of 5.3 trillion hours on mobile devices in 2025, representing a 3.8 percent year on year increase. On average, people worldwide spent more than 600 hours per year on their smartphones, equivalent to 3.6 hours per day.
Mobile Use Hits Record High
Within Southeast Asia, Indonesia recorded the highest level of mobile engagement. The Philippines ranked eighth globally with 153 billion hours, followed by Vietnam in 11th place and Thailand in 15th. Meanwhile, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, and Laos did not make the global top 20.
Notably, China, despite being home to many major global technology firms, ranked ninth with 148 billion hours and was the only top 10 market to record a decline compared to the previous year.
On growth trends, India increased from 1.13 trillion hours in 2024 to 1.23 trillion hours in 2025, while Indonesia rose from 400 billion to 414 billion hours. The United States saw steady growth, whereas Brazil and Russia experienced declines.
Social Media Dominates as AI and Short Drama Surge
The report found that nearly 2.5 trillion hours were spent globally on social media applications, averaging more than 90 minutes per person per day, a 5 percent annual increase. In Indonesia, TikTok was identified as one of the most frequently accessed apps.
Beyond social media, short drama applications such as Melolo saw a surge in downloads of up to 329 percent over the past year. In Indonesia, dominant app categories also included utilities, multimedia, banking and digital wallets, online lending, OTT streaming, instant messaging, telecommunications, and e commerce.
Globally, the AI Assistants category recorded a 426 percent year on year increase, entering the top 10 subgenres by usage time.
ChatGPT led the category with a 426 percent rise in usage time and a 254 percent increase in in app purchase revenue, followed by WhatsApp Business at 14 percent growth, Google Pay at 13 percent, and Spotify and TikTok at 5 percent each.
Throughout 2025, global smartphone users downloaded 149 billion new apps, up 0.8 percent from the previous year. On average, users accessed 34 different apps per month, a 5.4 percent increase compared to 2024.
Taken together, the data underscores Indonesia’s position not only as a large user market, but also as one of the most intensive smartphone usage economies in the world.
