WhatsApp, Instagram, and other Meta services are down: Meta platforms, WhatsApp, and Instagram have been down in many countries, including India. Find out all the details.
Today, WhatsApp experienced a global outage that left users unable to send or receive messages, while other meta apps like Facebook Messenger and Instagram also faced issues.
WhatsApp, Instagram, and other Meta services are down
On April 3, 2024, WhatsApp was disabled for users around the world. As reported by DownDetector and several social media users, the outage began around 2:00 pm ET. Some users have also experienced issues with Instagram and Facebook Messenger, but these are less noticeable.
This last difference, which seems to be global, prevents applications from sending or receiving messages. Users can open the app and see their chats and chat history, but messaging doesn’t work. It seems the same can be said for Facebook Messenger. Meanwhile, Instagram seems to have several bugs among some users, but the feed and reel are working in our short tests. Chat appears unaffected, but reports of Facebook outages have increased.
Instagram is also Down
Users were facing problems not only on WhatsApp but also on the meta Instagram app. Besides #WhatsAppDown, X also follows the #InstagramDown trend. DownDetector confirmed that Instagram had been taken offline with over 5,717 posts, at 11:53 pm EST.
Sixty-one percent of users are reportedly having problems with the Instagram app and 28 percent of users are having trouble refreshing their feeds. At the same time, 11% cannot access the Instagram application.
Update: WhatsApp will be available again as soon as possible for most people. The outage, which lasted less than an hour, now appears to have been resolved in terms of sending and receiving messages. The other meta apps are working properly again as well.
WhatsApp has also acknowledged the issue on Twitter/X.
We know some people are experiencing issues right now, we're working on getting things back to 100% for everyone as quickly as possible
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) April 3, 2024
In March, Instagram, Facebook, and Thread went offline for several users who reported that they suddenly logged out of their accounts.
Others reported being disconnected with no way to reconnect, while users with two-factor authentication struggled to get codes to complete their logins. There were problems with the application and the website.
Many users experienced outages
Over the past few hours, DownDetector has logged reports of several outages on Instagram and other meta-services. In addition, some users have raised concerns about potential problems. However, the exact number of affected users is currently unclear.
META faced a similar problem in March.
Earlier this year, on March 5, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, shut down globally. Andy Stone, director of communications at META, acknowledged the technical issue and apologized for the inconvenience caused by the error. However, after a few hours, the problem was resolved.
Facebook and Instagram are under investigation by the European Union
The European Union recently said it was investigating several alleged breaches of the bloc’s digital rules on Facebook and Instagram, including failing to take adequate steps to protect users from foreign disinformation ahead of EU-level elections. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has launched formal proceedings to determine whether Meta Platform’s parent company violated the Digital Services Act, which protects internet users and cleans up risky social media platforms. There is a comprehensive set of rules for this. Expect hefty fines, which could reach 6% of annual income.
