On Wednesday, there was a disruption in WhatsApp services owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), affecting thousands of users. Although some users regained access, a significant number experienced issues, as reported by the outage tracking site Downdetector.com.
Around 3,200 users in the United States encountered problems with WhatsApp, while an additional 2,500 incidents were reported from U.S. users directly. Similarly, Instagram, also owned by Meta, experienced issues, with approximately 3,200 users facing difficulties in the United States, according to Downdetector.
WhatsApp acknowledged the problem via a post on the social media platform X, stating, “We know some people are experiencing issues right now, we’re working on getting things back to 100% for everyone as quickly as possible.”
The impact was not limited to the United States, as users from various countries faced disruptions. Downdetector data indicated around 3,500 users in India, over 10,000 in the United Kingdom, and more than 7,000 in Brazil also reported problems with WhatsApp.
During the peak of the outage, over 24,000 WhatsApp users in the United States and more than 5,000 Instagram users experienced disruptions, according to Downdetector.
Meta, however, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
This incident follows a similar disruption last month, when a technical issue caused a global outage affecting hundreds of thousands of users on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms for over two hours.
