Many WhatsApp users reported inability to send and receive messages, while Instagram too was down during the period.
Facebook has attributed the outage to an unspecified "technical issue", which was resolved after some time. However, the company did not elaborate on the cause of the outage. (Photo: AFP)
Tech giant Facebook has apologised to WhatsApp and Instagram users after the online messaging service and social media platform suffered a major outage on Friday night. The issue, however, was resolved after some time.
Many WhatsApp users reported inability to send and receive messages, while Instagram too was down during the period.
Independent tracking portal Downdetector showed a spike in the outage reported by users of both WhatsApp and Instagram. According to its data, the issue started post 10.30 p.m.
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Facebook has attributed the outage to an unspecified “technical issue”, which was resolved after some time. However, the company did not elaborate on the cause of the outage.
“A technical issue caused people to have trouble accessing some Facebook services. We resolved this issue for everyone, and we apologize for any inconvenience,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
“Thanks for your patience, that was a long 45 minutes but we are back!” WhatsApp posted on Twitter.
Thanks for your patience, that was a long 45 minutes but we are back! #WhatsAppDown
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) March 19, 2021
“Some people were having issues with their Instagram accounts earlier, but we’re back now. The issue’s been fixed and we’re sorry for the trouble,” Instagram tweeted, along with a GIF.
Facebook has been working to integrate its WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger services as it aims to open communication line and share features across all platforms.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp rival, Signal took this opportunity to take a dig at the online messaging service as tweeted saying, “Signal registrations are through the roof; welcome everyone! Solidarity to the folks working on the WhatsApp outage. People outside of the tech industry will never understand how weird it sounds when someone says that they are “looking forward to some weekend downtime.”
Signal registrations are through the roof; welcome everyone! Solidarity to the folks working on the WhatsApp outage. People outside of the tech industry will never understand how weird it sounds when someone says that they are "looking forward to some weekend downtime.
— Signal (@signalapp) March 19, 2021
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