Instagram and Facebook experienced a major outage on Friday afternoon, leaving thousands of users unable to access the platforms worldwide. According to Down Detector, issues began shortly after 2.30pm, with over 20,000 problems reported in total.
Around 17,000 users reported issues with Facebook, while 3,000 flagged problems with Instagram. Of the Instagram complaints, 68% involved app functionality, 12% login difficulties, and 10% server connection errors. Many users noted that while the main feed loaded, Stories and direct messages failed to work.
On Facebook, more than half of the reports concerned the app itself, with a third citing login issues. Users took to other social media platforms to express frustration, with one asking, “Have I been hacked on Facebook or what?” Another queried, “uhhhh is instagram down for anyone else or is my phone just bugging?”
The cause of the outage remains unknown, and neither Meta nor Instagram has issued a statement on their official X or Threads accounts. Services appeared to return to normal by 3.15pm, but no explanation has been provided.
