Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are all down in a major outage this evening.
The three apps stopped working shortly before 5pm this evening.
All three are owned by Facebook and run on the same infrastructure.
Facebook said it was working to fix the issue “as quickly as possible.”
We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
— Facebook (@Facebook) October 4, 2021
The website Downdetector, which collects website status reports, recorded a spike in users finding themselves unable to access the services around 5pm.
Three-quarters of the Facebook users reporting problems complained of issues with the website while 13% could not access the app and 12% could not access the server.
WhatsApp said it was working to get things back to normal and thanked users for their patience.
Some 45% of the down reports for WhatsApp concerned the app with 28% concerning sending messages and 27% concerning the server connection.
We’re aware that some people are experiencing issues with WhatsApp at the moment. We’re working to get things back to normal and will send an update here as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience!
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) October 4, 2021
Instagram’s Twitter account posted: "Instagram and friends are having a little bit of a hard time right now, and you may be having issues using them.
"Bear with us, we're on it!"
Some 46% of Instagram’s down reports concerned the app with 27% concerning the website and 27% the server.
Instagram and friends are having a little bit of a hard time right now, and you may be having issues using them. Bear with us, we’re on it! #instagramdown
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 4, 2021
