Meta Apps Restored: WhatsApp and Instagram Back Online After Global Outage

On Wednesday evening, Meta faced significant downtime affecting its popular apps, with users from the UK, Europe, Asia, and the US reporting issues up to 22,000 times on Facebook and over 18,000 on WhatsApp.

Meta's key applications, WhatsApp and Instagram, are now back online after a disruptive global outage that began around 18:00 GMT on Wednesday, causing numerous users to report accessibility issues. Wave after wave of complaints flooded in, with the outage tracking site Downdetector logging significant disruptions not only in the UK but also across Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the United States.

In light of the disruption, Meta took to X, affirming that they were largely through the technical problems, stating, "Thanks for bearing with us! We're 99% of the way there - just doing some last checks. We apologize to those who've been affected by the outage." This communication came as over 22,000 Facebook users and more than 18,000 WhatsApp users encountered difficulties using the platforms.

The company quickly acknowledged the technical issues that were impacting user experiences, striving to resolve the matter promptly. Initial reports indicated that users were unable to access the apps or had issues with their feeds failing to refresh. In their bid to reassure users, WhatsApp updated on X stating, "We're aware of some issues accessing WhatsApp. We're actively working on a solution and starting to see a return to normal for most people. We expect things to be back to normal shortly."

The incident has once again highlighted the vulnerability of Meta's platforms, which boast over three billion active monthly users. The last significant outage that garnered widespread attention occurred in 2021 when all Meta services—including Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram—were offline for nearly six hours, leading to an apology from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The recent issues have prompted discussions about the reliability and infrastructure of these essential communication tools in today's interconnected digital landscape.