People getting over Facebook

Facebook has lost millions of users per month in its biggest markets, new data have suggested.

Facebook has lost millions of users per month in its biggest markets, new data have suggested.

The downfall comes as alternative social networks are attracting the attention of those looking for fresh online playgrounds.

Though Facebook has lost millions of users, it is still growing fast in South America. Monthly visitors in Brazil were up by six percent in the last month to 70m.

In India the social networking site has seen a four percent rise to 64 million.

According to analysis firm SocialBakers, the world's largest social network, has lost nearly nine million visitors in the US and two million in the UK last month, showing a fall of four percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

Users are also closing their accounts in Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Japan, where Facebook has some of its biggest followings.

Alternative social networks such as Instagram, the photo sharing site that won 30 million users in 18 months before Facebook acquired the business a year ago, have seen surges in popularity with younger age groups, the Guardian reports.

Facebook itself has warned, the time spent on its pages from those sitting in front of personal computers is declining rapidly.