On December 11, 2024, thousands of users across the United States reported widespread outages across several social media platforms owned by Meta, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The outages began to surface around noon Central Time, with reports surging to over 100,000 as users attempted to access their accounts.
According to Downdetector, a leading service for tracking outages, the problems were predominantly centered on Facebook and Instagram. Users logged more than 100,000 complaints for Facebook alone, while Instagram witnessed around 70,000, indicating a significant disturbance in service.
Meta acknowledged these challenges through its social network X, stating, We are aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps. We are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.
The outage reported by Downdetector showed prevalence in cities like New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles, with notable issues impacting users in varying regions. Users on Messenger and Threads also experienced emotional frustration as reports of interruptions surged.
A Meta spokesperson expressed their commitment to resolving the issue, emphasizing, We are working diligently on this problem and appreciate users’ patience during this technical disruption.
As Meta continues to address the technical challenges, users are encouraged to check official lines of communication for updates.
