WhatsApp has suffered a major service outage, which left the platform unavailable to millions of users around the world for several hours.
Our 2017 April Fool’s story took on a new light around the world last night, as WhatsApp suffered an unprecedented global outage that left millions of international users unable to access the service.
Though the platform has returned to full functionality this morning, the Facebook-owned company has not yet revealed the cause of the outage that left conversations in limbo for several hours.
Read: Facebook’s Messenger Lite launches in South Africa
In an official statement, a company spokesperson offered that “Earlier today, WhatsApp users in all parts of the world were unable to access WhatsApp for a few hours. We have now fixed the issue and apologize for the inconvenience.”
The service – unfortunately – wasn’t quick to disclose that it had suffered some form of setback, and didn’t attempt to post updates on its official Twitter account – which it has not used in the three-year period since its acquisition by Facebook. Interestingly enough, the company did not use its official Facebook Page to communicate any information pertinent to the outage, either.
UPDATE: Whatsapp is aware of outage issue and working to fix it – spokesman
— Reuters Tech News (@ReutersTech) May 3, 2017
The timing of the outage is unfortunate, given that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier yesterday that WhatsApp Status – its Snapchat Stories competitor – had reached 175 million daily users; around 15% of its total 1.2 billion user-base.
Facebook has subsequently remained mum on the acute cause of the outage, and we’ll continue to update this story as new information emerges.
WhatsApp has enjoyed a bumper year of blockbuster updates – including the introduction of Snapchat-style image editing features and the ability to make voice and video calls – and has recently benefitted from smaller tweaks, such as the ability to pin chats or inform contacts of a change in mobile number.
Read: Facebook launches Messenger Day, takes the fight directly to Snapchat
What are your thoughts? Where you affected by WhatsApp’s outage? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
