Yes, Whatsapp is down: Users unable to send messages in major outage

Global messaging service WhatsApp is currently down in what appears to be a global outage.

Problems with the messaging service, owned by Meta, started around 8am BST, preventing users from sending and receiving messages.

Currently, if users try to send messages, they aren't being sent at all – at the time of writing, there's been no indication from Meta as to what has caused the problem.

According to DownDetector, reports of WhatsApp being down have been made across North America – including the US and Canada – Europe – including in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, along with reports it is down in Israel, India, Australia and many other countries around the world.

ZDNET has contacted Meta for comment, but in a statement, a WhatsApp spokesperson told The Guardian newspaper: “We're aware that some people are currently having trouble sending messages and we're working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as quickly as possible.”

Whatsapp is one of the most widely used messaging apps on the planet, used by around two billion people across the globe. 

Some users have already reverted to using alternative messaging services like Signal to communicate while Whatsapp is down.