WhatsApp down: Thousands report unable to use messaging app | News of science and technology

WhatsApp is down for users across the UK, with tens of thousands of people reporting they can’t send or receive messages.

Downdetector, which tracks outages, said there were more than 69,100 problem reports as of 8.28am, with the first problems identified just before 8am.

By around 9.30am, that figure had dropped to 29,917.

However, the number of users experiencing problems could be much higher due to the way the website collects data.

WhatsApp users from all over the world are taking to social media like Twitter to complain that the app isn’t working.

The hashtag #whatsappdown trended on Twitter, with over 70,000 tweets and hundreds of memes flooding the internet.

Downdetector also found more than 11,000 users in India and 19,000 in Singapore who reported problems.

Users have found that although they can open the app and access their conversations, it cannot deliver new messages or send any successfully.

Many users get a constant message at the top of the app saying it’s “connecting” to the server, but then it doesn’t.

“We know that some people are currently having problems sending messages, and we are working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as soon as possible,” said a spokesperson for the platform’s parent company, Meta.

Some of the most concerned users are likely to be Conservative MPs, with the platform widely used by backbenchers, cabinet ministers and aides to discuss public messages.

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A There will be a reshuffle in the Cabinet of Ministers today, many MPs hoping for a ministerial post will at this point have no vital way of knowing their advisers’ chances of being appointed.

The application was previously identified as a tool of choice for MPs conspiracy against its leader, and Boris Johnson is said to have received frequent briefings of key government information through the platform while he was prime minister.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms in the UK and worldwide, and is estimated to have over two billion active users worldwide.