Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp was severely disrupted on Saturday night, rendering thousands of users across the globe unable to use major features. The glitch affected users in India, the United States, and a number of other nations, as per the outage tracking website Downdetector.
The site logged close to 600 reports of disruption by 5:30 p.m. (IST) and another 173 reports by 7:30 p.m. (IST), establishing the global nature of the outage.
Majority of Users Have Messaging Problems
Statistics from Downdetector indicated that around 88% of users had issues sending messages using WhatsApp. An additional 10% reported issues with the mobile app, and roughly 2% had login issues.
The blackout primarily caused disruptions to fundamental services like sending texts and updating status messages, leaving users agitated. No official explanation by the company for the technical failure has been made.
Global Impact: From India to the US
People from various parts of the world, such as India and the US, faced issues with the app. Most of them resorted to other social networking sites to post their worries and confusion. Screenshots overran Twitter and Instagram, revealing messages stuck in “sending” or not delivered.
Netizens React on Social Media
Individuals began posting their experiences and screenshots on the internet. Numerous users wrote that they could not send messages or post status stories. Social media soon became a hotbed of speculation, with users attempting to figure out the cause of the sudden interruption.
“Individuals on the social media website began posting that they could not post status stories or message other users. Posting their screenshots as evidence, social media users were attempting to discover what could be the cause behind the sudden blackout.”
Although this isn’t the first time WhatsApp has experienced an outage, such broad disruption again left people questioning the reliability of the platform, particularly with its international user base numbering in the billions.
Cause Still Unknown
At this point, Meta has yet to confirm what caused the outage. Without a quick explanation or restoration timeline, users are left in the dark, waiting anxiously for it to be over.
