A massive disruption hit millions of social media users worldwide on December 11, 2024, as Meta’s key platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—experienced a widespread outage.
Users were left unable to load their accounts, send messages, or post content, as all three platforms went offline.
Reports began flooding in on social media, including X (formerly Twitter), as users scrambled to understand what was happening.
The website Downdetector, which tracks service outages, showed a dramatic spike in reports of issues with Meta’s apps.
More than 71,000 complaints were registered for Instagram alone, while Facebook saw over 107,000 reports from users around the globe.
On Facebook, users were greeted with an error message that read, “We’re working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.”
The widespread outage led to confusion and frustration, with many users turning to other platforms to check if the problem was widespread.
The hashtag #instagramdown quickly became a trending topic on X, with users sharing their own struggles with the outage.
Shay, a user on X with the handle #uloveshaaay, tweeted, “Every time my Instagram or Facebook doesn’t work, I run to Twitter to see if it’s just me. Thank God I’m not the only one!”
Similarly, another user, #iamrazi18, shared, “Me running to Twitter to see if everyone else’s #Whatsapp #Facebook #Instagram is down or if it’s my internet.”
Meta quickly acknowledged the outage, posting an apology and an explanation on X.
“We’re aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps,” the company said in a tweet. “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.”
Instagram’s official account also posted a message to users, saying, “Hi, we know there’s a technical issue impacting some people’s ability to access Instagram. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience.”
WhatsApp followed suit, writing, “We’re aware of some issues accessing WhatsApp. We’re actively working on a solution and starting to see a return to normal for most people. We expect things to be back to normal shortly.”
The technical problems came just months after a similar disruption in March, leaving many users frustrated with the recurring issues affecting Meta’s platforms.
While some users reported that service was slowly returning to normal, many were left in the dark, waiting for updates from the company.
