WhatsApp is currently down for its 2 billion users. Service issues started at around 4PM ET and are preventing WhatsApp users from sending or receiving messages on the service. The WhatsApp application will still open, but a connecting loop will be displayed while the service is experiencing issues. If you’re trying to send messages to friends and family, once WhatsApp is back online the messages will be automatically queued and sent to recipients.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp rarely experiences service outages, and this is the first major outage for more than a year. WhatsApp went down alongside Instagram and Facebook last year for around two hours, before service was restored.
Facebook revealed earlier this year that WhatsApp now has 2 billion users, up from 1.5 billion and 1 billion users in 2018 and 2016, respectively. The chat app is popular across many countries in Europe and in India and Brazil.
We’ve reached out to WhatsApp for comment on the issues, and we’ll update you accordingly.
