Users of the popular social media apps Facebook and Instagram are experiencing outages and issues around the world. These apps appear to open, but the most common issues are the inability to send or receive messages or post new content. Facebook has offered a response to the numerous reports of these issues, stating on Twitter:
“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve this issues as soon as possible.”
According to the site DownDetector, the most severe outages are occurring in Brazil, with Paraguay, India, Bangladesh, and Argentina also experiencing high levels of outages. New England, Texas, Seattle, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines have all ranked in the middle regarding the number of outages and issues with Facebook and Instagram. And a lesser number of problems have been reported from users in Canada, Turkey, and Las Vegas.
There have not been consistent issues overall for the apps. Facebook Messenger might load on the desktop but not on its mobile app. Facebook’s ad section is not working at all, not allowing users to view or purchase the products advertised. Posts on Instagram and stories will not load.
For social media giants as large and influential as these two, it is surprising to see such a massive, world-wide problem. While, for those that use social media for recreational purposes this is simply a minor inconvenience, a chance to find something else to occupy the time. But for those that utilize them for business, for marketing purposes, and to run expensive social media campaigns to promote brands, products, and announcements this is a serious blow. We are in the age now of social media being a major influencer, connector, and opportunity to promote products and services. Perhaps in the past, this would not have been such an issue. But in 2019, global outages from Facebook and Instagram are disrupters.
