From Mukhtar Sagir Dambatta, Kano
WhatsApp users worldwide reported widespread service disruptions on Monday night, preventing millions from accessing messages, calls and other features of the app.
The outage, which started around 9 p.m. Nigerian time, affected users in several countries, with complaints ranging from undelivered messages to failed voice and video calls, as well as inability to upload status updates.
Reports showed that many users turned to other social media platforms to confirm whether the disruption was widespread, while outage monitoring websites recorded a sharp increase in reports.
Media reports from several countries, including the UK, France, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Spain and Colombia said users had the same experience as their counterparts in Nigeria.
They described similar challenges, an indication that the disruption was not limited to one country or region.
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An Abuja resident, Rukayya Yusuf, shared that the disruption interrupted communication with her family and colleagues.
“I initially thought it was my internet connection, but after trying everything, I realised WhatsApp was down. I had to switch to another messaging app to stay in touch,” she said.
Also speaking, Usman Maigari, a digital entrepreneur, said the outage affected customer communication and business transactions.
“Most of my clients contact me through WhatsApp. The outage delayed responses and affected my business because I couldn’t communicate with customers in real time,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, had yet to issue an official statement explaining the cause of the disruption or indicate when full service would be restored.
(NAN)