On September 25, 2024, users experienced significant outages across Meta’s suite of applications, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The disruptions started at approximately 9:57 a.m. PST, with reports peaking at around 10:11 a.m. PST when over 100,000 users reported difficulties accessing the services, as noted by the internet monitoring site Downdetector.
Meta responded to the situation by acknowledging the technical difficulties through a post on social media platform X, reassuring users that they were working diligently to resolve the issue. “We’re aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps. We apologize for any inconvenience and are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible,” the company stated.
An additional post specifically addressing Instagram’s issues recognized that some users were unable to access the photo-sharing app. Later in the day, Meta issued an update confirming progress in restoring services, stating they were “99% of the way there – just doing some last checks.” Shortly after, Instagram announced that it was back online, expressing appreciation for users’ patience: “Andddd we’re back — sorry for the wait, and thanks for bearing with us.”
This situation recalls a similar incident in March 2024 when Meta’s apps faced outages coinciding with the Super Tuesday U.S. presidential primaries, underscoring the challenges large tech companies can encounter during peak usage times.
Despite the inconvenience caused by the technical issues, it’s encouraging to see how swiftly Meta responded to the situation, showing a commitment to keeping users informed and minimizing downtime. This responsiveness not only helps to maintain user trust but also highlights the resilience of digital platforms in overcoming short-term challenges.
For users, it’s a reminder of the importance of diversifying their online interactions across different platforms to mitigate the impact of such outages in the future.