Millions affected as Meta is hit by major global outage
December 12, 2024
In the early hours of Thursday, a significant global outage affected Meta’s suite of social media platforms, leaving users in a state of uncertainty. Reports of difficulties accessing Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp began surfacing around 4:30 AM, with a notable surge in complaints emerging from Australia. By 5:40 AM, Down Detector recorded thousands of users experiencing issues, particularly in major cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.
Social Media Buzz and User Reactions
The situation quickly escalated on social media, with the hashtag “#instagramdown” trending on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Over 5,000 posts were made regarding the outage, reflecting a mix of confusion and frustration among users. Comments ranged from inquiries about server status to expressions of panic over the inability to access their accounts.
“I’ve been blocked from logging into Facebook … Are servers down?”
“Meta down! Instagram isn’t working. WhatsApp is slow! Facebook is logged out!”
“Everybody panicking because Facebook down,”
In response to the growing concerns, Meta acknowledged the technical difficulties on X, stating, “We’re aware of a technical issue impacting some users’ ability to access apps. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience.”
By approximately 8 AM, users began regaining access to their accounts, signaling a gradual return to normalcy. This incident echoes a similar disruption in March, when users faced challenges with notifications and feed updates across Meta’s platforms. That outage was resolved within two hours, though the company did not provide insights into the underlying causes.
Millions affected as Meta is hit by major global outage
In the early hours of Thursday, a significant global outage affected Meta’s suite of social media platforms, leaving users in a state of uncertainty. Reports of difficulties accessing Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp began surfacing around 4:30 AM, with a notable surge in complaints emerging from Australia. By 5:40 AM, Down Detector recorded thousands of users experiencing issues, particularly in major cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.
Social Media Buzz and User Reactions
The situation quickly escalated on social media, with the hashtag “#instagramdown” trending on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Over 5,000 posts were made regarding the outage, reflecting a mix of confusion and frustration among users. Comments ranged from inquiries about server status to expressions of panic over the inability to access their accounts.
In response to the growing concerns, Meta acknowledged the technical difficulties on X, stating, “We’re aware of a technical issue impacting some users’ ability to access apps. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience.”
By approximately 8 AM, users began regaining access to their accounts, signaling a gradual return to normalcy. This incident echoes a similar disruption in March, when users faced challenges with notifications and feed updates across Meta’s platforms. That outage was resolved within two hours, though the company did not provide insights into the underlying causes.