WhatsApp stopped working for its 2 billion users today. Service problems started around 4 p.m. ET and prevented WhatsApp users from sending or receiving messages on the service for almost an hour. The WhatsApp app would still open, but a connection loop was displayed while the service was experiencing problems.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp rarely experiences service outages, and this is the first major outage in over a year. WhatsApp fell alongside Instagram and Facebook last year for about two hours, before the 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 application is popular in many countries in Europe and in India and Brazil.
In a statement to The Verge, WhatsApp commented that “We are aware that some people are currently having trouble sending messages and we are working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as quickly as possible.”
Update, July 14 at 4:45 pm ET: WhatsApp is back online.
Update, July 14 at 5:35 pm ET: Added WhatsApp statement.
