DOWN AND OUT
Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp back online after crippling 10-hour outage broke apps
FACEBOOK, Instagram and WhatsApp are back online across the UK and Europe after an outage lasting more than 10 hours.
Tens of thousands of users complained that the apps and websites will no longer load content, including statuses, photos and videos. WhatsApp users said messages aren't sending or receiving.
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Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp not working – what went wrong?
Online outage tracker Down Detector began logging several hundred complaints about Instagram at 2pm on Wednesday afternoon. This was followed by a spike in reports of issues with Facebook and WhatsApp just before 3pm.
Facebook confirmed to The Sun that there was a problem with its apps, and was "working as quickly as possible" to fix it. The issue has now been fixed.
Users complained that log-ins, content loading and websites weren't working either. WhatsApp users said some texts weren't sending or receiving.
According to a live outage map, the issue primarily affected the UK and central Europe.
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But not all users were affected: the Facebook and Instagram apps and websites were both working for some staff in The Sun's office.
The mass outage isn't a surprise: Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp, and shares systems across all three apps.
So an issue that affects one Facebook service can also affect others.
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp down – what were users saying?
Frustrated social media users have taken to Twitter to complain about the outage.
An angry Facebook user moaned: "Another morning, another day that Facebook can't get their s**t together."
One user wrote: "Instagram is down again, so came here to see the peeps on Twitter."
Another said: "Thought I was tripping so I came straight here to make sure my IG wasn't the only one acting up."
Instagram – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- Instagram is a social network for sharing photos and videos
- It was created back in October 2010 as an iPhone-exclusive app
- A separate version for Android devices was released 18 months later
- The app rose to popularity thanks to its filters system, which lets you quickly edit your photos with cool effects
- When it first launched, users could only post square 1:1 ratio images, but that rule was changed in 2015
- In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1billion in cash and stock
- In 2018, some analysts believe the app is worth closer to $100billion
- In October 2015, Instagram confirmed that more than 40billion photos had been uploaded to the app
- And in 2018, Instagram revealed that more than a billion people were using the app every month
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Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp broken – what has Facebook said?
In a statement given to The Sun, a Facebook spokesperson said: "We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble uploading images, videos and other files on our apps.
"We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible."
However, despite the issue now being fixed, Facebook hasn't revealed exactly what's gone wrong.
We've asked Facebook and Instagram for comment and will update this story with any response.
WhatsApp – a quick history
Here's what you need to know...
- WhatsApp was created in 2009 by computer programmers Brian Acton and Jan Koum - former employees of Yahoo
- It's one of the most popular messaging services in the world
- Koum came up with the name WhatsApp because it sounded like "what's up"
- After a number of tweaks the app was released with a messaging component in June 2009, with 250,000 active users
- It was originally free but switched to a paid service to avoid growing too fast
- Facebook bought WhatsApp Inc in February 2014 for $19.3billion (£14.64bn)
- The app is particularly popular because all messages are encrypted during transit, shutting out snoopers
- As of February 2017, WhatsApp has over 1.2 billion users globally
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This type of outage could only get worse in the future: Facebook recently revealed a plot to merge Messenger with Instagram and WhatsApp.
The planned move immediately raised privacy concerns among users and experts.
But billionaire Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg assured everyone that the merger wouldn't happen until 2020.
Are you affected by these Facebook issues? Let us know in the comments!
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