Users of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp experienced a global shutdown on Wednesday evening, as Meta, the tech giant led by Mark Zuckerberg, reported a “technical issue” disrupting its services.
Frustrated users turned to X (formerly Twitter) to share their experiences, as platforms owned by Meta went offline. Outage monitoring site Downdetector recorded over 100,000 outage reports for Facebook and 70,000 for Instagram, reflecting the widespread nature of the disruption.
In a statement on X, Meta acknowledged the issue, stating, “We’re aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.”
Similar outages have affected Meta platforms in the past, including incidents in May 2024 and October 2021, both attributed to technical glitches rather than security breaches.
Users attempting to access Facebook reported login issues, even with correct credentials, while Instagram users noted that feeds were not refreshing. WhatsApp, another Meta-owned platform, was also affected, adding to the frustration of billions of global users.
Meta’s platforms are among the most widely used social media services globally. Facebook leads with three billion active monthly users, while Instagram boasts 1.35 billion users.
In Nigeria, social media remains a dominant force, with Statista reporting about 33 million active users as of 2021. WhatsApp leads as the most popular platform, used by over 90 million Nigerians, followed by Facebook (86.2%), Instagram (73.1%), and X (61.4%).
The outage led to a surge in activity on X, highlighting its role as an alternative platform for real-time updates during disruptions. Meta has yet to provide a detailed explanation for the outage but reassures users that efforts are ongoing to restore normalcy.
