JEDDAH: Users of WhatsApp in the Middle East are reporting that the popular messaging app is down and it looks like the interruption is also happening elsewhere.
In the Arab region, some users expressed their disappointment with the service provider, while others posted sarcastic comments on social media. Some said they can now go to sleep.
With WhatsApp not running a status page to alert its users of what is going on, users vented their frustrations via Twitter.
An hour after the messaging service was down just after midnight, the #Whatsapp_is_down and #whatsappdown hashtags were going viral.
Anosh said she only came to know about the interruption when she checked her Twitter account.
Nayef bin Yazeed said Twitter has become an app for social gathering. Whenever WhatsApp is suspended for any technical reason, users rush to Twitter to socialize, he said.
Another Twitter user named Ramad said in jest that the reason behind WhatsApp is down possibly because women are chatting in enormous numbers.
Women should be banned from WhatsApp, she said.
For Nida Abbas, it was like eternity waiting for the messaging service to be restored.
Around the world, news sites were also reporting about users being unable to send or receive chats or even load up conversations. Users also took to witter to vent their frustrations.
“Why is WhatsApp down when you need it most,” Claire Stirling complained.
Aparv teased WhatsApp users to switch to other messaging apps: “For the people who's Whatsapp is down, switch to @Telegram. You'll love Telegram more. It's in league of its own,” he said.
A report by The Independent said the interruption were being reported in western Europe, the East Coast of the US and South America but it could be worldwide. “And there doesn't seem to be any easy way of fixing the issue, which is affecting many of its users and is likely a problem with its servers,” the report said.
WhatsApp Messenger has more than a billion users in more 180 countries, according to the WhatsApp.com.