Facebook, Instagram and Threads are down in the UK with thousands of users reporting issues with the platforms in the past hour.
The problems appeared to have started at around 3pm today, according to Down Detector, a website that tracks internet outages. Between them, more than 30,000 people have reported problems with Instagram and Facebook in the past hour. All three affected sites are owned by Meta, which also operates WhatsApp - though that appears to be working fine.
On Twitter (now X), people are reporting that both platforms aren’t loading. Instagram is showing users an error message that reads “couldn’t load posts,” while Facebook says “session logged out.”
With Facebook log-ins also used to access other sites, the crash may have wider implications for users.
So, what do you do when your fave apps aren’t working? Based on all the rib-tickling GIFs being shared on X, you have a bit of fun while you wait for them to come back online. Much to the delight of Elon Musk many of the posts are people commenting on the influx of users X gets when one of its rivals goes down.
Everyone going towards Twitter to check if Instagram is down… #instagramdown pic.twitter.com/BjfiqY0V8I
— Atul (@dikhhat_hai_) March 5, 2024
Others, however, are genuinely concerned. Unsurprisingly, the first reaction by some users was fear that their accounts may have been hacked.
Me after checking on Twitter that Meta is just down and I'm not hacked since my Instagram isn’t loading and my Facebook got "session logged out”. 😂 #facebookdown #instagramdown #meta pic.twitter.com/gVZkxDd93J
— ً (@raphaelmiguel) March 5, 2024
“Is meta down or am I being hacked?” writes one user.
“I wondered if I was being hacked too. I just got booted out of Facebook for no reason. I can't log back in. It tells me my password is wrong,” replied another person.
I immediately think the worst in every situation. I thought my page was hacked and my nudes were released #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/O9IpQHUj2Z
— High King of Narnia (@Geminitwin312) March 5, 2024
“Anyone else freak out and think they was being hacked?” noted another.
The last time Meta had a major meltdown was all the way back in 2021. The worldwide crash that affected Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp was reported 14 million times, making it one of the biggest outages in DownDetector’s history.
