Facebook reaches 1 bn daily-user milestone

Mark Zuckerberg announced a new milestone for the social network had hit a new milestone of one billion daily users.

''For the first time ever, one billion people used Facebook in a single day. On Monday, 1 in 7 people on Earth used Facebook to connect with their friends and family,'' wrote Zuckerberg in a post on his personal profile.

''When we talk about our financials, we use average numbers, but this is different. This was the first time we reached this milestone, and it's just the beginning of connecting the whole world.''

The news comes as no great surprise - Facebook had been growing steadily, and the second quarter of 2015 saw it average 968 million daily active users, and 1.49 billion monthly active users.

According to commentators, on the basis of its figure of 844 million daily active mobile users during that period, Facebook might well reach the total of 1 billion people logging in from smartphones and tablets in a single day in the not-too distant future too.

''A more open and connected world is a better world. It brings stronger relationships with those you love, a stronger economy with more opportunities, and a stronger society that reflects all of our values,'' wrote Zuckerberg.

Facebook said last month that second-quarter revenue had jumped from $2.91 billion to $4.04 bn beating analysts' expectations, though quarterly profits were down 9 per cent.

The company had been making heavy investments in mobile advertising, and the development of two recent acquisitions - the photo-sharing app Instagram and the WhatsApp messaging service.

(Also see: Facebook takes over from Google as traffic driver to news sites and publishers)