Popular social media apps face outage

iStock [For illustration]

Users of social media applications Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram reported widespread outages on Monday.

They appear not to be working on smartphone apps or on web platforms.

Downdetector, a website that tracks traffic-related issues on major websites saw a spike in the number of complaints from 7:25 pm UAE time.

In a statement to ARN News, a Facebook company spokesperson said: "We're aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

All three Facebook-owned apps also posted a similar message on Twitter.

We’re aware that some people are experiencing issues with WhatsApp at the moment. We’re working to get things back to normal and will send an update here as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience!

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) October 4, 2021

We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

— Facebook (@Facebook) October 4, 2021

Instagram and friends are having a little bit of a hard time right now, and you may be having issues using them. Bear with us, we’re on it! #instagramdown

— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 4, 2021

Earlier, users of the three apps took to Twitter to complain about the outage, with memes popping up.

Instagram down. WhatsApp down. Facebook down.

Twitter right now: pic.twitter.com/8dTjlSfzzH

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 4, 2021

I wonder how hard Twitter usage spikes when Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all go down at once

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) October 4, 2021