In a call to the press, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is struggling to keep up with increased WhatsApp usage.
As more and more people stay home, communication services like WhatsApp are serving as a vital lifeline to help people get connected and stay in touch with their loved ones and work. Under those circumstances, Facebook and WhatsApp are feeling the strain.
According to Mashable, Facebook has already doubled server capacity for WhatsApp. Zuckerberg indicated the problem is likely to get worse.
“This isn’t a massive outbreak in the majority of countries around the world yet,” Zuckerberg said. “But if it gets there, then we really need to make sure we’re on top of this from an infrastructure perspective to make sure that things don’t melt down.”
Referencing New Year’s Eve as the busiest day of the year, Zuckerberg continued: “We are on a sustained basis well beyond what that spike is on New Year’s. Just making sure that we can manage that is the challenge that we’re trying to make sure that we can stay in front of.”
As the pandemic continues to worsen, Facebook and similar services will have their work cut out trying to stay ahead of demand.
