On Wednesday afternoon, several Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, experienced widespread outages that caused major disruptions for users. The issue began around 1 PM ET, when many staff members at The Verge reported that apps like Facebook and Instagram were either not loading at all or were displaying outdated posts. Meta has since confirmed that, for the most part, the problem has been resolved, and services are returning to normal.
During the height of the outage, Downdetector recorded a significant surge in user complaints for multiple Meta platforms, indicating that a large number of people were affected by the issue. For instance, the Instagram Downdetector page showed more than 66,000 reports of problems, while Facebook saw a peak of over 83,000 reports. The sudden spike in outages affected users across different regions, causing frustration for those who rely on these platforms for both personal and business communications.
Meta responded quickly, acknowledging the issue on X (formerly known as Twitter) shortly before 2 PM ET. The company confirmed that it was working to resolve the disruptions, and within a few hours, it assured users that the situation was largely under control. By 5:26 PM ET, Meta posted an update saying, “Thanks for bearing with us! We’re 99% of the way there — just doing some last checks. We apologize to those who’ve been affected by the outage.”
By 6:02 PM ET, Instagram announced that the platform was back to full functionality, adding, “Andddd we’re back — sorry for the wait, and thanks for bearing with us.” Despite the swift recovery, many users were left frustrated by the temporary service disruptions, which impacted both personal and business communications, especially considering the widespread use of these apps for both social interaction and professional purposes.
This outage is not the first time Meta has faced major disruptions across its platforms. In March of this year, Meta experienced another significant outage that took down Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This was preceded by a similar issue in October 2022, when both Instagram and Facebook were affected by service disruptions, causing widespread frustration among users.
While Meta has yet to provide a full explanation of the cause behind Wednesday’s outage, such disruptions are becoming more frequent across major tech companies. Meta, in particular, has faced a series of challenges over the past few years, ranging from technical difficulties to concerns over privacy, security, and content moderation. Despite these challenges, the company has continued to invest heavily in its apps and services, and it remains one of the largest social media companies in the world.
For now, users appear to have returned to the platforms with service largely restored. However, Meta’s repeated outages serve as a reminder of the ongoing technical hurdles faced by major tech companies, especially those that rely heavily on complex systems to manage millions of users and vast amounts of data every day. As Meta works to resolve these issues, users will likely continue to experience interruptions from time to time, but the company’s swift response to the recent outage shows its commitment to minimizing downtime and ensuring a better user experience.