Activists had used Facebook, Twitter and other social media to rally supporters online, coordinate protests and share tips on how to dodge arrest and deal with teargas.
But the Internet has been almost entirely shut down for most of the protests, only to start operating after Mubarak gave some of the biggest concessions in his term, leaving many online users, like most Egyptians, divided on whether to return to ordinary life or to continue demonstrations.
A bloody confrontation gripped central Cairo where armed government loyalists fought pro-democracy demonstrators on Wednesday and Thursday, prompting Facebook users to set up groups calling on all camps to stay at home on Friday.
One group, which had gathered more than 180,000 members in a few hours, asked Egyptians to "calm down and try to focus on rebuilding". The main page calling for the "Friday of Departure", in contrast, had a little over 40,000 members.
