Meta-owned messaging giant WhatsApp faced widespread service disruption on Saturday, leaving millions of users across India unable to send messages, upload statuses, or make calls. The outage sparked a wave of complaints on social media, as users struggled to connect both on the app and via WhatsApp Web.
Outage tracking platform Down Detector registered a spike in complaints, with 81% of users reporting issues with sending messages and 16% flagging problems with the app’s overall functionality. The glitch appeared to affect users across both Android and iOS platforms.
“Is it just me or your WhatsApp is down as well? I am trying to upload status and it’s taking forever to do so,” one user posted on X (formerly Twitter), reflecting the widespread frustration.
Meta Apps Affected, No Official Word From WhatsApp
While WhatsApp has yet to release an official statement regarding the technical fault, users also reported disruptions on other Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram — both of which faced sporadic issues with loading content and sending messages. “I have been trying to upload the status but it couldn’t. #WhatsApp #whatsappdown”, tweeted another user, adding to the flood of real-time outage reports on social media.
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This marks the second significant technical glitch for WhatsApp this year, following a global outage in February that left users worldwide unable to connect, send texts, or make calls. On that day, Down Detector logged over 9,000 complaints from Indian users alone.
UPI Services Also Hit by Nationwide Disruption
The WhatsApp outage came just hours after another critical digital service — India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) — experienced a nationwide disruption, halting millions of financial transactions.
Earlier in the day, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) acknowledged the technical glitch, posting a statement on X: “NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines. We are working to resolve the issue and will keep you updated. We regret the inconvenience caused.”
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The glitch caused temporary disruption for users making payments via apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, and BHIM, impacting local shopping, bill payments, and essential business transactions across the country.
While NPCI has since confirmed that UPI services have been restored for most users, many reported failed payments and transaction delays well into the afternoon.
Digital India’s Growing Dependence on Apps Raises Concerns
Saturday’s twin disruptions — first with UPI services and then with WhatsApp — highlight India’s increasing dependence on digital platforms for both social communication and financial transactions. The outages triggered fresh concerns about the resilience and stability of essential digital services in the country, especially on weekends when usage spikes.
Both Meta and NPCI are yet to release comprehensive technical explanations for the disruptions.
