Prominent online tool Down Detector started noticing unusually high “problem reports” at 12.07 pm and had listed thousands of such reports by 1 pm. Most reports were about messages not going through, at 69 percent, while others reported server disconnection and the app crashing altogether.
Social media users from Italy and Turkey also posted about not being able to send messages.
The company said it’s working on bringing it back up.
“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble sending messages and we’re working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as quickly as possible,” said a spokesperson of Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram besides WhatsApp.
A meme fest with the hashtag #WhatsAppDown began on Twitter and other platforms. Many users said they first thought their internet service was the problem.
Another meme had a shot of Farhan Akhtar, from the movie Milkha Singh, “running to check on Twitter if WhatsApp is down”.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta, the US-headquartered company that also owns Facebook and Instagram. India is its biggest market by user numbers, at over 50 crore downloads.
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