Facebook assures stability, reliability of its services during COVID-19 outbreak

Mark Zuckerberg reported on his Facebook account that people have been online to stay connected with their loved ones amid the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

“As people around the world practice physical distancing, internet use is surging to levels never seen before,” he said in a post on March 25.

WHO: Use 'physical distancing' instead of 'social distancing'

The CEO of Facebook noted that due to the significant usage growth, they are doing the best they can to keep their services “fast, reliable, and stable.”

He also linked a Facebook blog post that presents their data to give users an idea of the load they are managing today.

According to the blog post, written by Alex Schultz, VP of Analytics, and Jay Parikh, VP of Engineering, online messaging has increased more than 50% over the last month in the countries most affected by the COVID-19.

Furthermore, “voice and video calling have more than doubled on Messenger and WhatsApp.”

In Italy alone, Facebook reported 70% increase in time spent across their apps since the arrival of the novel coronavirus.

Facebook and Instagram Live views amounted twice as much in just a week. And, online messaging escalated over 50% and time in group calling rocketed by over 1,000% during the last month.

With the said data, the company will temporarily reduce bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram to help “alleviate potential network congestion.”

Moreover, “We're monitoring usage patterns carefully, making our systems more efficient, and adding capacity as required.”

In this time of global health crisis, Facebook also prioritizes features such as the COVID-19 Information Center and the World Health Organization's Health Alert on WhatsApp.

“We hope these connections make it easier for people to stay home,” the blog post concluded.

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