The Covid-19 pandemic across the globe has led to an increase in Facebook users as many have taken to Facebook to keep in touch with their near and dear ones.
The worldwide lockdown, which was implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19, has physically kept people apart from each other. But they have some recourse to be together via online platforms such as Facebook which has the widest appeal and users that people stay in touch with.
According to the company officials, the monthly active users now stands at 2.6 billion- a 10 per cent increase over the same quarter last year. This apart, about 3 billion people used Facebook's apps like Instagram and WhatsApp.
Despite the increase in users, the company has lost revenue as advertisements from travel and auto businesses have reduced. These sectors have been badly hit as people are prohibited to travel. However, the recently inked Reliance and Facebook venture JioMart could bring in the desired revenue stream in India.
"Issues beyond its control"
At the same time, Facebook is donating millions of dollars to small businesses as part of its social responsibility policy. It is offering businesses $100 million in cash grants and ad credit. Thousands of Portal video chat devices were donated to veterans in the US and UK. Amidst these ups and downs the company is going ahead with its new releases- Messenger Room, a tool, to compete with apps like Zoom which enables video chat upto 50 people was released last week.
Due to the outbreak, production of its hardware like Oculus virtual reality headsets and Portal video chat devices have taken a backseat. It has also been forced to moderate the misinformation content posted by users with regards to Covid-19.
The company, in a statement, said that its business is affected by issues outside of its control.
