Saturday, April 12, 2025 – WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging app, suffered a major outage on Saturday evening, disrupting communication for thousands of users across the globe.
According to outage-tracking platform Downdetector, the app began experiencing issues around 8:10 PM IST, with over 1,000 users reporting problems in real time. The disruption impacted users in India, the United States, and several other countries, where many were unable to send or receive messages, triggering frustration across social media platforms.
With over 2 billion active users worldwide and rapidly approaching the 3 billion mark, WhatsApp’s sudden downtime raised eyebrows globally. The Meta-owned platform has yet to issue an official statement, but users flocked to X (formerly Twitter) to share screenshots of errors and memes reflecting the service disruption.
Global Impact: Communication Comes to a Halt
The outage appears to have affected core messaging functions, including text delivery, media sharing, and syncing across devices. For professionals, students, and families relying on WhatsApp for daily communication, the downtime proved to be a serious inconvenience.
Rolling Out While Breaking Down?
Ironically, the outage comes just as WhatsApp was in the middle of rolling out several new features designed to enhance user experience:
- Group Chat Online Indicator: Now shows how many members are online in a group chat.
- Priority Group Notifications: Users can now customize notifications to highlight replies and mentions only.
- Event Creation in Personal Chats: Create, RSVP, and pin events directly in chat threads.
- Tappable Reactions: View who reacted to a message and instantly add your own.
- Built-in Document Scanner: iPhone users can now scan documents directly via WhatsApp’s attachment menu.
- Default Messaging App (iOS): WhatsApp can be set as the go-to app for calls and messages on iPhones.
What’s Next?
As users wait for Meta to resolve the outage, speculation continues online. Was it a server glitch, a technical fault during the new feature rollout, or something more?
For now, WhatsApp remains partially functional for some users, while others are still staring at endless “Connecting…” messages.
Also Read
🔴 UPI Crash Across India: Digital Payments Stuck, Users Left Frustrated