WhatsApp, with its 75%, is the preferred means for Italians to communicate with their family and friends. Meta's app precedes phone calls, which are still at 43%, and messages via Instagram, at 42%. These are the statistics collected by a study by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (Mef), which analyzes the habits of use of mobile phones and smartphones in Italy. "The mobile services market saw its first global success in Italy in the second half of the 90s. But today Italians don't seem so enthusiastic about mobile phone services," says Dario Betti, CEO of the MEF.
Just think of the additional opportunities offered by technology today, such as sending money. "Only 31% send money to friends via mobile - says the study - 18% less than the global average". Italy also lags behind on other services that are widespread abroad. Italians book and pay for a taxi with their mobile phone for 16% less than the average of other countries while the difference is 12% on listening to podcasts, 11% on food delivery and, in general, 10% in paying with the smartphone. The study then photographs which are the organizations in which Italians place greater trust when it comes to using and managing their personal data. Despite the understanding that mobile apps and services are convenient and easy to use (72%), concerns remain about the amount of data collected. Nearly two-thirds of people avoid sharing personal information online. Despite this, Amazon is trusted more than the government when it comes to giving their data, with a spike in trust in doctors and hospitals.
The attitude towards technological innovations, such as the metaverse and facial recognition, is positive, although they are still far from common use. In the top 14 of the most used apps by Italians to communicate with friends and relatives, after WhatsApp, phone calls and Instagram, there are emails, Messenger, Telegram, Tik Tok and text messages, now obsolete. Further back Apple iMessage, MMS, Skype, Snapchat, Android Messenger and Viber.