Facebook UK User Base Shrinks By 600,000 In December

The number of Facebook users in the UK decreased by around 600,000 in December, according to social media monitoring firm Socialbakers.

Even when accounting for the traditional seasonal dip in use over the festive period, the UK was the only one of Facebook’s top ten countries to experience a seasonal drop in users.

Facebook reached the one billion user milestone last October, and it has been suggested that a decreasing user base is a sign that Facebook is reaching saturation point in the UK and must look to the developing world to grow.

Facebook UK user base

However, despite the apparent reduction in users, the UK remains the sixth most active Facebook user base in the world, with more than 33 million unique visitors accessing the social network last month. Unsurprisingly, the US is still Facebook’s biggest market with 169 million users, followed by Brazil with 65 million and India with 63 million.

Socialbaker’s figures are measured according to monthly active users, with the firm saying that although the statistic is vulnerable to casual users who may not use the site that often, it remains the fairest measurement in the industry.

It adds that the data is sourced from Facebook’s ad interface, which has a delay, typically by several weeks, meaning that the figures do not necessarily take into account the unpopular privacy changes proposed by the site.

Last month, not enough users participated in a vote on changes to data sharing and site governance for it to be binding, despite the overwhelming majority of participants opposing them.

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