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Coronavirus outbreak is affecting Facebook services too

By Cosmin Vasile

Published: Mar 24, 2020, 10:01 PM

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Coronavirus outbreak is affecting Facebook services too

As more countries enact lockdowns due to coronavirus spreading and order population to stay home, wireless service provides are faced with new challenges. YouTube, Netflix and a couple of other important streaming services have already adjusted the quality of their stream to avoid internet congestion across Europe.

Facebook is one of the companies that registered unprecedented traffic during the coronavirus outbreak. Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp have become vital apps for those who must remain home if they want to stay in touch with their friends and family. As such, Facebook announced that it's struggling to maintain the reliability of its services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

During this emergency, we’re doing everything we can to keep our apps fast, stable, and reliable. Our services were built to withstand spikes during events such as the Olympics or on New Year’s Eve. However, those happen infrequently, and we have plenty of time to prepare for them. The usage growth from COVID-19 is unprecedented across the industry, and we are experiencing new records in usage almost every day.

And it's not just the increased traffic that is putting a strain on all Facebook's services, but the fact that all of the company's employees are now working from home makes it even more challenging to maintain stability.

In that regard, the social network giant announced that it will temporarily reduce bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in those regions that are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the company is now testing and preparing for any issues that might arise in the coming months.

Unfortunately, the crisis hasn't reached its peak yet, as more countries are just starting to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak, so we can definitely expect things to get worse in the coming weeks.

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Cosmin, a tech journalist with a career spanning over a decade, brought a wealth of experience to PhoneArena. His expertise lies in brands like Samsung and Nokia, and he has a keen interest in innovative technologies. After a brief stint in PR, Cosmin returned to tech journalism in 2016, committed to delivering clear and objective news. When he's not writing or appearing as a guest on TV and radio shows, Cosmin enjoys playing RPGs, watching Netflix, and nurturing his passion for history and travel.