Skip to main content

Facebook’s massive outage saw millions sign up for rival apps

When Facebook users had finished mocking the company over its calamitous global outage on Monday, October 4, many apparently flocked to rival apps in order to get back in touch with friends and family.

The six-hour outage — caused by configuration changes to Facebook’s routers that prevented its computer systems from communicating in the usual way — also impacted Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, which Facebook also operates.

Related Videos

With billions of people affected, tens of millions of users made a beeline for rival messaging app Telegram, according to Pavel Durov, the startup’s CEO and founder.

“Yesterday Telegram experienced a record increase in user registration and activity,” Pavel wrote in an online post, claiming that a staggering 70 million people signed up in a matter of hours.

Pavel added that the service was largely able to cope with the sudden increase in usage, though admitted that “some users in the Americas may have experienced slower speed than usual as millions of users from these continents rushed to sign up for Telegram at the same time.”

Telegram launched in 2013 and as of July this year served 550 million monthly active users.

Signal, another messaging app that’s estimated to have around 40 million monthly active users, also claimed to have added “millions” of new users to its service on Monday while Facebook remained offline.

Whether those new sign-ups convert into regular users of Telegram and Signal remains to be seen, but the apparent desertion by so many people in response to a single event will doubtless concern Facebook’s top team.

As the outage continued on Monday, Facebook’s market value fell by nearly $50 billion, though it recovered some of those losses on Tuesday. It’s also thought to have lost around $79 million in ad revenue during the downtime. Once Facebook and its other services were restored later on Monday, the company said it was “working to understand more about what happened today so we can continue to make our infrastructure more resilient.”

If the Facebook fiasco has left you keen to try a new messaging app, then take a moment to check out Digital Trends’ top suggestions.

Editors' Recommendations

Meta unveils paid verification service for Instagram and Facebook users
Mark Zuckurburg introduces Facebook's new name, Meta.

Meta is introducing a paid verification service for folks on Facebook and Instagram.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, unveiled the new service in an online message on Saturday. Meta Verified will launch first in Australia and New Zealand before being rolled out more widely.

Read more
I review phones for a living — here are the 10 apps I can’t live without
iPhone 14 Pro with custom home screen on Mickey Mouse phone holder next to flowers

For most of my life, I think I’ve had a pretty unique career path among my family and friends. Ever since I got the original iPhone, I’ve turned my love for writing into writing about technology, specifically mobile phones. Though I’ve pretty much been iPhone-only for most of my career, since I started at Digital Trends, I’ve been opening up to the world of Android.

Now that I’m checking out both iPhone and Android phones, the world of apps for me has expanded quite a bit. But regardless of what device I’m using, there are some apps that I need before anything else. Here are the first apps that I install when I get a new phone.
1Password (iOS and Android)

Read more
Tinder Incognito Mode: what it is, how to use it, and why it’s important
Settings in the Tinder app, showing Incognito Mode.

Navigating the world of online dating can be tricky — even with the best dating apps readily at your disposal. With the number of horror stories based on matches gone wrong, feeling safe while looking for a partner online can sometimes feel like a fantasy, especially for those who have already had bad experiences.

Luckily, Tinder has stepped up its safety features with Incognito Mode, along with a handful of other great additions that ultimately aim to make users feel much safer as they try to find partners. Here's everything you need to know about Tinder's Incognito Mode and the other safety features available in the app.
What is Tinder Incognito Mode?

Read more