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Menlo Park (dpa) - In the past quarter, Facebook sales rose 48 percent year-on-year to just under $ 26.2 billion.

Profits jumped from $ 4.9 billion to $ 9.5 billion.

The number of users who visit Facebook at least once a month rose by a good 50 million to 2.85 billion within three months.

Almost 1.9 billion use the platform every day, as Facebook announced after the US market closed on Wednesday.

At least one app from the Facebook group - such as Instagram or WhatsApp - is accessed by 2.72 billion users every day.

That is 120 million more than three months ago.

At least once a month, an app from the group is used by 3.45 billion users.

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Facebook mainly earns its money through advertising, which mainly appears in the users' news feed.

Last quarter, it served 12 percent more ads - and their average price rose 30 percent year-over-year.

The online network reiterated the criticism of Apple's tightened privacy protection measures on the iPhone. Apps now have to obtain express permission from users if they want to track their behavior across different services and websites for advertising purposes. This is an important way for Facebook to collect information to personalize advertising.

Finance chief Dave Wehner said Facebook remains concerned about the impact Apple's privacy policy will have on small and medium-sized businesses.

In the meantime, Facebook will be able to manage the effects on its own business.

Facebook is rebuilding its ad systems so that they can get by with less data, said top manager Sheryl Sandberg.

Industry observers assume that the overwhelming majority of iPhone users will reject the comprehensive tracking.

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CFO Wehner repeated the accusation that Apple favored its own products and services on its devices.

The iPhone company always rejects this.

At the same time, Facebook is reaping the fruits of years of investment in the virtual reality business, where users can immerse themselves in digital worlds with special glasses.

Other revenue besides advertising rose to $ 732 million from $ 297 million a year earlier - largely thanks to increased sales of the Quest 2 VR glasses.

Facebook's founder and boss Mark Zuckerberg also shows interest in so-called augmented reality (AR), in which digital objects are displayed in the real environment for the user.

According to reports from the media and analysts, Apple is also working on AR and VR glasses.

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In a conference call with analysts, Zuckerberg was convinced that VR and AR will be the next computer platform.

So far, Facebook has had to be content with a web browser or smartphone apps.

In future computer environments, however, you will actually have the feeling of being in one place with someone else.

"That will make a lot of experiences possible that we have always wanted to develop."

Facebook will continue to invest heavily in the technology.

Zuckerberg also affirmed the goal of expanding Facebook into an e-commerce platform - even if that would be a task for several years.

Investors let the Facebook share rise in after-hours trading by a good six percent.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-395811 / 3