Statistics from a study conducted by Piper Jaffray, a US-based investment banking service, show that Snapchat has now been overtaken as the most used social networking site among American teenagers.

The study saw 8,600 teenagers asked questions about their social media usage and 85% stated that they used Instagram more than once a month. This slightly overtakes Snapchat, where 84% of participants stated they used it.

However, while Instagram may now be the most used platform among teenagers, it does not necessarily mean that it is the most popular. The two platforms switch places when participants were asked which of the platforms they preferred.

When asked which social platform was their favourite, 46% of those surveyed selected photo-messaging site Snapchat, in comparison to the 32% that stated Instagram was their favourite. This may be reassuring to Snapchat’s CEO Evan Spiegel and his team as the company’s efforts to address a fierce backlash it received after completely redesigning the app earlier this year seem to be working.

Whilst just under half of US teens surveyed may still prefer Snapchat, its engagement figures may tell a different story – one that suggests that Snapchat is an app in decline. Back in August, the company reported that the number of people using the app on a daily basis had dropped for the first time in its history. Furthermore, earlier this month, shares in the company hit a new low following comments made by one analyst that claimed Snapchat was running low on funds.

This is a contrast to Instagram, which is continuing to rise in popularity among users, marketers and advertisers, with the latter two resulting in increasing revenues for the Facebook-owned company.

In its report, Piper Jaffray highlighted that Instagram is showing dominance in selling, with teens preferring contact with their favourite brands through this platform than other channels.

The Piper Jaffray report follows a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, which was done on a smaller scale earlier this year. Back in April, it asked 750 US teenagers which platforms they used and 72% stated that they used Instagram, compared with 69% who used Snapchat.

In the UK, there is a difference in user preference. Ofcom published two studies that examined two different age groups, the 16-24s and the 12-15s. According to its figures, both groups preferred Snapchat over Instagram in terms of usage. However, as the regulator is due to publish updated figures on the younger demographic in the next month, there could still be a change.