WhatsApp and Instagram, both owned by Meta, experienced widespread outages affecting numerous users worldwide starting around 1:45 pm ET on Wednesday.
Those attempting to log in to the apps or access WhatsApp Web, the browser version, were met with an error message indicating that the service was unavailable.
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Instagram users encountered difficulties refreshing their feeds or viewing the latest stories during the outage, with the apps sharing Meta date to function.
Downdetector, a widely-used website for monitoring web outages, recorded a significant increase in reports from users experiencing issues with WhatsApp and Instagram.
What has caused the problem?
Given we are so early into the crisis, it’s unclear just what has caused this global outage. Initially people will suggest there has been a cyberattack of some description, although such news can’t be confirmed until the problem has been rectified.
This is the latest in a number of web service failures that have occurred in 2024, with many seeing a greater level of unreliability amongst their apps and services in recent weeks.
For those looking to use Facebook Messenger as an alternative to contacting friends and family via WhatsApp, there is no luck there either, with both the web versions and standalone app not working.
This comes at a particularly worrying time in Taiwan and the surrounding areas after Tuesday evening’s destructive hurricane which caused buildings to collapse and a Tsunami warning to be given.
With people still trying to find survivors, this outage of vital communication services could cause people increased anxiety if they are yet to hear from a loved one in the Taiwan region.
Within the first hour of initial reports of the apps failing, there were 5,000 individual reports from India alone, although the problem has now spread.
X users managed to get a trend going worldwide entitled #whatsappdown to alert people to the problem and discuss it.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
