Knews Desk-The first quarter of 2026 has proved to be a mixed bag for Meta. On one hand, the company has registered an increase in its user base on an annual basis, while on the other hand, the decline in daily active users has raised concerns. According to reports, around 2 crore daily active users have decreased on all Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger in the March quarter.
According to Meta, the average number of its Family Daily Active People (DAP) by March 2026 stood at 3.56 billion, which is 4% more than the same period last year. However, compared to the December 2025 quarter, it has registered a slight decline. This decline may seem small in comparison to the total user base, but experts believe that this trend is an important sign for the platform’s long-term strategy.
User activity affected due to internet restrictions and restrictions on WhatsApp
The company has also mentioned some external reasons behind this decline. Meta says that internet restrictions in Iran and restrictions on WhatsApp in Russia have affected user activity. However, reports related to the tech industry are pointing towards a different reason. Many analysts believe that the decline in the quality of content on Instagram, Facebook and other platforms is becoming the main reason for low user engagement. In particular, there has been an increase in user complaints regarding unrelated and less relevant content appearing in the feeds of Instagram and Facebook. The posts suggested by the algorithm sometimes do not match the user’s interests, affecting the experience of the platform. In the world of social media, relevance and quality of content is considered most important, and this lack is becoming a challenge for Meta.
Major changes in Instagram’s recommendation algorithm
In view of these problems, now the company has decided to take a big step. Meta in particular is going to make sweeping changes to Instagram’s recommendation algorithm. The aim is to provide users with more useful, interesting and personally relevant content to increase their return and engagement on the platform. Additionally, Meta is also investing heavily in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The company plans to increase its spending on AI technology to about $10 billion (about Rs 94,947 crore) this year. It is believed that the company is trying to strengthen the declining engagement of its platforms through a better AI-based recommendation system.
Experts believe that in the future, the success of social media companies will largely depend on how accurate and attractive content they are able to provide to the users. For Meta, this change is not only a technical upgrade but also a strategic attempt to regain user trust and engagement. It has become clear to Meta that just having a large user base is not enough, but keeping them active and satisfied on the platform is equally important. Now it will be interesting to see how much these changes made in Instagram and other platforms improve the situation of the company.
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