These are some of the most popular social media apps in the world, but it looks like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger have all crashed.
According to DownDetector, the problems started around 4:44 p.m. BST (11:44 a.m.ET) and affect all users of social platforms around the world.
All three social media services, all owned by Facebook, run on a shared back-end infrastructure, and other Facebook-owned services are also down, including Facebook Workplace and the Oculus website.
We are aware that some people are currently having issues with WhatsApp. We are working to get things back to normal and will send you an update here as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience!
– whatsapp whatsapp) October 4, 2021
Shortly after the first report was published, the #facebookdown hashtag was all the rage on Twitter, with users around the world reporting connection issues.
On Twitter, Facebook’s communications manager Andy Stone said he knew some people were having difficulty accessing Facebook apps and products.
“We are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience,” the executive said in a tweet.
The hashtag #instagramisdown and WhatsApp were also trending on Twitter, with a number of users claiming to have checked their internet connection when they couldn’t access Facebook.
Me: WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram are down.
Teacher: This is where Twitter comes in. pic.twitter.com/A9h3uVhfcn
– KrYs_🇨🇳🇰🇪🇹🇿 (@chreztoph) October 4, 2021
Whenever Facebook and Instagram are down, it draws people to Twitter, with one user sharing a Homer Simpson meme jumping from his house to Moe’s bar, with the Twitter logo above the door.
me after realizing that whatsapp, instagram and facebook are down for everyone 😋 pic.twitter.com/4uk7wHDxMv
– amazon prime video IN (@PrimeVideoIN) October 4, 2021
There were several jokes along the same lines, one showing a fast track running and the caption: “My friends and I are running on Twitter to see if fb, whatsapp and insta are down.”
WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger all belong to Facebook.
We are aware that some people have difficulty accessing our applications and products. We are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
– Facebook Facebook) October 4, 2021
It’s unclear what caused the problem, although it disrupted all Facebook-owned platforms, including the Oculus VR gaming website.
NetBlocks, which tracks internet outages, tweeted: “Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger are currently experiencing outages in several countries.”
WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook are all down. People are on Twitter to check if they’re down or not.
While waiting for those who are not on Twitter! 🤦🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/AWEKnc47ri
– Kunal Yadav (@ kunalyadav1098) October 4, 2021
Adding that “the incident is not related to disruptions or to Internet filtering at the country level”.
everyone heads to twitter when instagram and facebook are down pic.twitter.com/SADm4o2WlI
– Cloud9ineDreams🌻 (@ Cloud9ineDreams) October 4, 2021
When attempting to visit Instagram using a desktop web browser it generates a “5xx server error” and Facebook simply says “this site cannot be reached”.
The last major Facebook platform outage came in June 2021, when people in the United States, Morocco, Mexico and Brazil all said they could not log in. – Daily mail
