Changes in smartphone app use during the global Facebook outage on 4 October 2021

On Monday, October 4th all Facebook apps stopped working for around six hours because of DNS-routing problems. With Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger down, smartphone users were forced to use different apps, especially for communication.

We investigated how people changed their smartphone behavior when Facebook apps went offline. Let's dive right in!

Method#

Facebook Outage: Monday 4 October 18-24h CEST, usages in minutes

Reference period: previous workweek (Mo - Fri), 27. Sept - 1. Oct, 18-24h CEST, usage in minutes, averaged

Number of participants: 400

Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger#

Our most interesting findings are in messaging apps. Whatsapp (-62%) and Facebook Messenger (-77%) both lost a significant amount of screentime. Telegram (+366%) and Signal (+269%) were used a lot more . Even pre-millenium "apps" like SMS (+404%) and Phone.app gained However, Whatsapp was still used more than Telegram, SMS and Signal combined, even though it was offline.

Fig.1 Average daily usage of messaging apps in minutes from 6PM - 12AM

Facebook and Instagram#

Usage of Facebook and Instagram dropped significantly. Facebook.app usage between 6PM and 12AM on October 4th was three times lower than on other working days. Instagram crashed even harder and was used six times less during the outage. Users mostly went to other social media apps and gaming apps.

Fig.2 Average daily usage of social network apps in minutes from 6PM - 12AM

Smartphone use overall#

Overall smartphone use stayed largely the same. On Monday, October 4th, overall phone usage between 6PM and 12AM was about 66 minutes. This is a small 9% decrease compared to Monday of the week before, where it was around 73 minutes.