“WhatsApp is temporarily unavailable. Please try again in 5 minutes” was the notification users received
WhatsApp, the popular meta-owned messaging app, suffered a global outage on Tuesday when users reported problems accessing the social media platform.
I faced the same issue in Greece when I was unable to send messages via my WhatsApp account. At first, I thought it was a technical issue related to my mobile phone, and then I tried to uninstall and re-downloaded the app. But when I tried to re-enter my account, I received a notification that the social media platform was unavailable.
“WhatsApp is temporarily unavailable. Please try again in 5 minutes,” was the notification I received.
According to Downdetector, it appears that the app has experienced problems almost all over the world.
Downdetector reported a significant increase, with around 60,000 reports online of the app not working. Users were complaining that their messages were not being delivered. The app failed to mark the delivery status even when messages were delivered.
Users expressed their concern
Users even looked on Twitter for information on whether WhatsApp was down or not. Within minutes the related hashtag had become the first global trend on Twitter.
In the Downdetector live outrage map, cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Lucknow seem to be the hotspots with the most problems. However, the issues were not limited there since most countries were affected by WhatsApp outrage.
“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 Meta spokesperson said.
However, the company did not disclose further information about the cause of the problem. Several users quickly expressed their concern on Twitter about whether this was a hacker attack and whether their data had been compromised.
WhatsApp Web is down as well
Besides the app, WhatsApp Web also seems to be affected by the outage, and users cannot log in from computers or tablets. Those attempting to log in through the Web App received a warning error message.
Users were even complaining about issues with the calling feature on WhatsApp. WhatsApp suffered a similar outage last year in October. In fact, back in October 2021, all the Meta-owned platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) went down for about six hours after a significant DNS failure.
Back in August 2022, Facebook users also reported a severe problem with their Feed, spammed with messages from other people initially made on celebrity pages. The users expressed their vital concern about the incident and its extent.
Just before midday on Tuesday, this platform’s services began to be restored in some countries gradually, but many users continued to report problems.
The global WhatsApp outrage also caused a big wave of memes that flooded social media. Most featured the founder of Facebook and owner of the company Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, trying to “fix” the problem.
