What you need to know
YouTube has successfully restored its services following a significant outage that left countless users facing blank homepages and error messages. This disruption, one of the most notable in recent months, was primarily linked to issues within YouTube’s recommendations system, the very engine that curates personalized content for users.
The outage prompted an overwhelming response, with Downdetector recording between 300,000 to 350,000 reports from users in the United States alone, alongside numerous complaints from other parts of the globe. The problem extended beyond just the main platform, affecting YouTube Music, YouTube Kids, and YouTube TV logins, creating a ripple effect across the entire service.
If you’re having trouble accessing YouTube right now, you’re not alone — our teams are looking into this and will follow up here with updates: https://t.co/7iTU5S9AgTFebruary 18, 2026
By late evening in the U.S., YouTube announced that the homepage was operational again, eventually confirming that full service had been restored across YouTube.com, mobile applications, and other related services. Importantly, this disruption did not result in the deletion of any videos or accounts; it merely hindered the visibility of content for a brief period.
With services back online, YouTube’s engineers are likely to delve into the root causes of the recommendations system failure, aiming to implement measures that will help prevent similar issues in the future.
