If you were trying to send messages via WhatsApp and they weren’t going through, you weren’t alone. The messaging app went down early Tuesday for many users around the world for at least 30 minutes. Based on information from Downdetector — and from Engadget editors’ reports — the service wasn’t working in several regions, including the US, Canada, parts of Europe like the UK and Italy, and Asian countries that include India, Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines. WhatsApp users either couldn’t connect to the service at all or their messages got stuck with the loading wheel and weren’t being delivered. Instagram and Facebook appeared to be working just fine throughout.
As of 7:50am GMT, Downdetector reported that over 68,000 users in the UK alone had reported problems, according to Reuters. An additional 19,000 people in Singapore and 15,000 people in South Africa logged issues, too.
The issue affected not just WhatsApp on mobile, but also on the web. It wasn’t sending messages either, and if you tried to set it up for the first time, the QR code that you need to scan with your phone to link your account would get stuck in loading mode. The app’s downtime, of course, affected people in certain locations more than others. In some parts of the world like Brazil and India, small businesses use the app to get in touch with customers, to sell goods and even to receive payments.
Meta acknowledged the issue in a statement to Engadget:
“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble sending messages and we’re working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as quickly as possible.”
A spokesperson also later confirmed the issue had been resolved. “We know people had trouble sending messages on WhatsApp today,” a representative for Meta told Reuters. “We have fixed the issue and apologise for any inconvenience.”
Update 10/25/22, 4:54AM ET: WhatsApp has started working again for users after more than an hour of downtime.