Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp suffer outage, shows Downdetector; services now restored, says Meta

Facebook and Instagram outage has affected thousands of users.

Meta says services have been restored now. (AFP)

After its social media apps, Facebook and Instagram, went down, affecting thousands of users, Meta Platforms has announced that the services have been restored and are now functioning normally. At the peak of the disruption, around 20,000 users reported difficulties accessing these platforms and Meta's messaging service, WhatsApp.

The number of outage reports reduced to less than 500 by 6:30 p.m. ET, according to Downdetector. Meta also resolved issues with its Ads Manager, the advertising tool for Facebook ads.

During the outage, users took to Downdetector to express their frustrations. Smith from Toledo, Ohio, shared, “Facebook app is down, messenger and Facebook is down in Toledo Ohio right now. You can send text messages on Messenger, but Facebook is not working, nor is Facebook Messenger for photos, videos, or voice messages.”

Downdetector diligently collects and consolidates status reports from various sources, including user-submitted error reports on its platform, in order to track outages. However, it is worth noting that the actual number of affected users may be higher than what has been reported thus far.

Edward Sharon, another user, expressed his concerns on Downdetector, saying, "My account has been down. I can't upload or send pictures or messages. The account was totally blank until a friend recommended that I contact @Fix_lyon on Telegram. He is the best."

Similarly, Matilda shared her experience, saying, "Discovering that my account has been compromised sent shockwaves through my digital world, but @Belintech on Telegram came to the rescue. They are like knights in shining armor, utilizing their technical and in-depth knowledge."

So far, Meta has confirmed that the issues with Ads Manager, the tool that allows brands to buy and create Facebook ads, have been fixed. As services have been restored, users are now relieved to have their access reinstated, allowing them to resume their social media activities on the platforms.

Last month, Instagram, owned by Meta Platform Inc., also experienced a downtime. After the majority of users regained access, the company acknowledged that a technical problem had caused disruptions for thousands of people but assured that the issue had been resolved.