Here Is Why Facebook, WhatsApp, And Instagram Were Temporary Down

Here’s one way to get your Monday off to a bad start: All of Facebook’s services, including Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, are unavailable. Yes, all the way down. Going to Downdetector for a “is it just me?” check reveals that outage reports are off the charts — but your friends’ unreturned messages were probably a solid sign.

The problem has spread throughout the Facebook network, affecting all of its websites, apps, and related services. Apps and websites may not load at all for certain people. Others get an interface, but their messages and photographs don’t send or load.

The outage is spanning countries and geographical regions, according to the Digital Trends staff, and an aggregation of reports from around the web. But it’s on Twitter that you really get a sense of how ubiquitous this is, where everyone is seeing the same thing (and, of course, making fun of Facebook).

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The rippling effects of Facebook’s services being down for several hours may now be felt throughout the internet. We’re noticing an increase in outage complaints about other prominent sites, such as Twitter, likely as a result of customers fleeing.

Just in case you were wondering how unexpected this outage was, official notifications took a long time to arrive, and when they did, they were scant. WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook’s public relations staff all took to Twitter (of course) to spread the word that “it’s not just you.”

Please accept my sincere apologies to anyone who is now experiencing outages of Facebook-powered services. We’re having networking issues, and teams are working as quickly as they can to debug and restore service.

Not to be left out, some official competitor accounts have joined in the fun. (However, considering Google’s history of unsuccessful messaging services, the expression “glass houses” should certainly be remembered.)

What are our options now? Gmail?

What is the source of the issue?

Many individuals on Twitter have begun to piece together the root of the problem, which appears to be related to Facebook’s DNS records. DNS is essentially an online phonebook, instructing web browsers and apps where to go to locate Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. These listings appear to have been erased due to a significant problem with Facebook’s servers, which house its own DNS records, making it difficult to find those sites.

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp aren’t gone forever just because the DNS makes them appear inaccessible. Because the servers that supply the real website when you type in something like “Facebook.com” are down, no one can access it. It’s unknown how long the outage will remain or whether Facebook will ever reveal the cause.

This is a work in progress.

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