Facebook-owned messaging platform, WhatsApp experienced a major outage in most parts of the world yesterday. The outage reportedly occurred between 6 – 7 PM and left affected users unable to open the app or send a message.
The issue rocked various platforms including iPhone and Android as many users took to Twitter to air their dismay. According to outage tracker, the service was down in Europe, North America, India, Indonesia, parts of South America, and South-West of Asia.
This downtime did not affect users of the platform in many other countries, including Nigeria, as they were able to access both the smartphone app and its desktop and web versions. According to the outage maps, the majority of Russia, China Australia, Canada, and Africa did not experience the downtime.
The reason for the disconnection or why some areas where not affected is yet to be released by the company.
WhatsApp does not run a status website or Twitter handle it updates to explain the issues its platform experiences. Its Twitter handle for instance has not made a post since 2014.
This outage comes just hours after the platform announced that it would be curbing the number of forwards for users worldwide. The move was aimed at limiting hoaxes and rumours that could lead to violence.
Although, this is not the first time that the messaging app would be having a major crisis, this is the first time in nearly two year. WhatsApp users experienced similar events twice in 2017.
Technext Newsletter
Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
Join the community now!
