Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spent several days in federal court lately, defending the company in a major antitrust case brought by the FTC. The heart of the case? Whether Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were about eliminating potential rivals.
Most of what’s come out so far isn’t exactly new. We already knew Meta bought Instagram to grow its reach, tried (and failed) to buy Snapchat twice, and now sees TikTok as a serious competitor. But the case is shedding new light on how Meta views its own place in the digital world.
One of the biggest takeaways? Zuckerberg admitted that people are spending less time on Facebook and Instagram compared to the past.
As per The Information, Zuckerberg told the court that time spent on Facebook and IG has “gone down meaningfully,” and much of the direct interaction between friends has shifted to messaging apps.
That shift isn’t surprising. Messaging apps have become a preferred way to connect. But hearing Meta acknowledge a drop in engagement is significant — especially since they haven’t publicly shared “time spent” stats for years.
The last official update was in 2016 when Meta proudly announced users were spending over 50 minutes per day across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. After that? Silence. Now, we might know why.
According to Guggenheim Partners, using Apptopia data:
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Read more- TikTok users in the U.S. spend 108 minutes/day
- Facebook users average 63 minutes/day
- Instagram users are down to 48 minutes/day
That means TikTok is almost twice as sticky as Facebook when it comes to daily user engagement.
Meta has tried to counter this with AI-powered Reels to boost time spent, but clearly, that hasn’t been enough. And Zuckerberg’s own words—acknowledging “meaningful” reductions—back that up.
Another interesting tidbit from the trial: Zuckerberg once floated the idea of wiping everyone’s social graph to re-engage users. Why? Over the years, our feeds have become cluttered — full of brand pages, school acquaintances, and old coworkers we barely care to follow anymore. A clean slate could help make Facebook feel more relevant and personal again.
Although Meta never acted on that idea, it shows the company is thinking about big changes. Zuckerberg has been talking about getting back to “OG Facebook” lately, so maybe we’ll see something similar in the future.
As for the case itself? The FTC is pushing hard, but based on what’s surfaced so far, it’s unclear whether the court will side against Meta or force any kind of breakup involving Instagram or WhatsApp.
Stay tuned — this case could run for a couple of months and may shape how big tech operates going forward.
