Communications regulator Ofcom has published its Online Nation Report for 2025, which delves into the online habits of the UK public. Along with its findings, the report revealed that UK adults are spending more time online than they did during the COVID-19 pandemic, that YouTube is the most used online app, and that services from Alphabet and Meta account for more than half of all time spent online. However, despite the ubiquitousness of online services, around one in 20 people remain without internet access at home.
The average time spent online outside work purposes was four hours and 30 minutes per day for UK adults. This was an increase of 10 minutes compared to 2024 and over half an hour (31 minutes) more than in 2021. The report found that women spent longer online than men across all adult age groups. Women averaged four hours and 43 minutes per day, which worked out at 26 minutes more than men. Smartphones were the most common way of accessing online services for both men and women. Men were more likely to use a desktop computer, while women spent slightly longer than men on tablets.
YouTube and Facebook are among the most used online services
YouTube was found to be the most popular online service, with a reach of 94% and an average time of 51 minutes per day spent watching its content. The combination of Facebook and Messenger was used by 93% of online adults, while Google Search had a reach of 82%, with users spending one hour and 27 minutes across the month. Google remained the top search platform, with 3 billion monthly UK web searches, though generative AI is transforming the sector. The report also found that WhatsApp was the top messaging app and was used by 90% of online adults in the UK in 2025. In total, more than half (51%) of all time spent online was on services owned by Google and YouTube owner Alphabet or Facebook’s parent company, Meta.
Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman told the BBC that increasing time spent online was not a problem itself – what mattered was “what this time is displacing and how this may harm mental health”. He added that it was good news that society as a whole was “beginning to question online time more critically”.
