The issue had primarily affected WhatsApp Web, a matter which has impacted both personal and business accounts, sparking widespread frustration and a surge of complaints on social media.
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has been experiencing significant disruptions across its web platform, leaving global users unable to access it since Sunday, November 24.
In spot checks by Viral Tea, the issue had primarily affected WhatsApp Web, a matter which has impacted both personal and business accounts, sparking widespread frustration and a surge of complaints on social media.
The outage, which entered its second day on Tuesday, November 26, has even left us unable to effectively access our official WhatsApp channel and forced us to seek alternative means to upload content on the channel.
One notable hiccup that a majority of users in Kenya reported was the freezing of the WhatsApp web when attempting to load it in a browser such as Chrome whilst chats typically tend to load automatically when the app is in full swing. This matter is the same when we tried out browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.
A screenshot of a static page while loading WhatsApp Web. /WHATSAPP
Downdetector, a website that tracks online service outages, reported on Monday, November 25 that approximately 58% of users had struggled to connect to the platform’s web version. In addition, 31% of users reported issues with the mobile app itself, while 11% cited server connection problems.
Despite today’s spot checks via Downdetector indicating that the reports had reduced slightly, Is It Down Right Now which monitors the status of websites and checks whether they are down or not, reported that WhatsApp Web was still not functional.
“Web.whatsapp.com is DOWN for everyone. It is not just you. The server is not responding,” the website reported.
This global issue has been causing significant inconvenience, particularly for businesses and individuals who rely on WhatsApp Web for daily communication and operations.
Affected users quickly turned to social media to express their concerns and frustrations. Many shared their experiences and sought updates on the situation, while others lightened the mood with a flood of memes highlighting the challenges posed by the outage.
On X, hashtags related to the disruption trended as users speculated about the cause of the problem and discussed workarounds.
Possible causes
While WhatsApp has yet to issue an official statement about the cause of the disruption, such outages are often linked to server maintenance, technical bugs, or unexpected spikes in user activity. The global nature of the issue suggests a centralised problem rather than isolated incidents.
Meta, which is WhatsApp’s parent company, is also yet to issue a statement on the outage, suggesting that the issue could be specific to a few regions and the issue may not be big enough to warrant an official statement. In such cases, Meta’s technical team tends to sort the issue internally.
In India, for example, several users also reported being unable to access WhatsApp web around the same time the challenge was experienced in Kenya.
Earlier this year, a more severe WhatsApp outage was experienced where users were completely unable to send or receive messages, prompting an online outrage through X, formerly Twitter.
Despite the ever-lingering challenge of technical disruptions, WhatsApp developers have consistently tried to add updates to the app to enhance user experience.
Two weeks ago, WhatsApp was revealed to be in the process of rolling out a new update for all Android mobile devices expected to mimic Instagram’s ‘add yours’ feature. In a report on November 7, WABetaInfo announced that the new feature will be included in the latest Android update.
The sticker feature will work by introducing prompts through status updates and is expected to significantly boost engagement by encouraging users to interact with each other’s status updates in a new creative way.
“It will allow users to engage with their contacts beyond simple text updates or images, promoting more dynamic interactions. By using the “Add Yours” sticker, people will be able to initiate trends, share personal stories, or simply bring a bit of fun and spontaneity to their user experience in the future,” a report on WABetaInfo read.
“Similar to the “Add Yours” sticker available on Instagram, this feature will let users set a theme, question, or activity that others can participate in by sharing their own status updates.”
Screenshots of how the ‘add yours’ feature will look like in the new update. /WABETAINFO