Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp experienced a global outage on Nov. 30. Users from America, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and South Africa all reported that they had problems with sending and receving messages via the app.
The outages started on Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). A WhatsApp spokesperson recognized the issue and apologized for the inconvenience. They also said that they are "working to fix the issue as soon as possible."
While users in some areas reported that the app has resumed normal service, reports regarding the app's outage continue to flow.
DownDetector, a website that checks on the availability of online websites and services, received a spike regarding the number of reports for WhatsApp. The spike culminated to more than 35,000 users. They reported the flaw that continued to baffle the social messaging app.
Comments posted as late as Dec. 1, 5 a.m. GMT showed that people are still having issues, particularly users in Guatemala, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.
It appears that the setback was the first major outage that the app experienced. Meanwhile, it remains to be one of the most widely-used messaging apps, with a userbase that is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.
As of press time, WhatsApp has not yet released a statement regarding the cause of the recent outage. It should be noted that the service outages came after WhatsApp recently rolled out a major update. A major feature included in the update was the ability to delete or "unsend" messages.
According to the WhatsApp blog, this feature will enable users to delete messages "sent by mistake — whether to one person or an entire group." Users just need to tap and hold the message in question, choose "Delete" and then "Delete for everyone." However, deletion should be done within seven minutes after the message has been sent.
