WhatsApp suffered a widespread global outage on Monday, preventing thousands of users from sending or receiving photos, videos, and status updates.
The disruption affected users across multiple countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany, with outage tracker Downdetector recording a sharp spike in complaints.
While text messages continued to work for many users, media sharing was significantly affected. Users reported that images and videos remained stuck with a loading spinner before eventually displaying a "Retry" message, making it impossible to share files for several hours.
Users Report Widespread Media Sharing Issues
As reports of the outage spread, users turned to Reddit and X to confirm the problem.
Several Reddit users said newly captured photos and screenshots failed to upload, while older images could still be sent without issues. Others reported that media files remained stuck indefinitely before failing.
Downdetector showed complaints rising throughout Monday evening before gradually easing. However, reports surged again during the early hours of Tuesday, indicating that the disruption continued for several hours in different regions.
India Among Worst-Hit Regions
In India, complaints peaked at around 3:00 AM IST. According to Downdetector data:
53% of users reported messaging-related issues.
36% experienced app functionality problems.
5% reported voice calling issues.
Users from several other countries also confirmed similar problems, particularly with sending and receiving photos, videos, and status updates.
Some Accounts Placed Under Review
Alongside the outage, several WhatsApp users reported that their accounts had been placed under a 24-hour review, temporarily restricting access to certain features.
Affected users received a notification stating that their activity and device information were being reviewed under WhatsApp's Terms of Service. The message indicated that the review had been requested on August 3, 2026, with a decision expected within 24 hours.
The notification also included links explaining responsible platform use and guidance for compromised or stolen accounts.
Why Did the Outage Happen?
Meta has not disclosed the exact technical cause of the disruption. However, experts say such large-scale outages are commonly caused by one or more of the following:
Server or backend infrastructure failures affecting WhatsApp's media delivery systems.
Cloud service disruptions that interrupt file uploads and downloads.
Software deployment or configuration errors introduced during platform updates.
Temporary failures in content storage or synchronization systems.
Security and anti-spam system updates that may have mistakenly affected legitimate users.
Since text messaging remained functional for many users while media transfers failed, the issue appears to have primarily impacted WhatsApp's media processing and delivery infrastructure rather than the entire messaging service.
What Action Has Meta Taken?
Although Meta did not immediately issue an official statement during the outage, the company acknowledged the account review issue through a WhatsApp spokesperson.
The spokesperson said WhatsApp continuously works to prevent misuse of the platform by detecting spam, scams, and malicious activity. The company stated that accounts violating its policies may be restricted, but admitted that automated systems can occasionally make mistakes.
Meta said it works to identify and correct such errors as quickly as possible so affected users can regain access to their accounts.
As engineers worked behind the scenes, reports on Downdetector gradually declined, indicating that the company had restored service for most users. Media sharing functionality also returned for most users after several hours.
The latest WhatsApp outage comes just weeks after Instagram and Facebook experienced separate service disruptions, raising fresh concerns over the reliability of Meta's platforms.
Although Monday's outage was resolved, users across multiple countries experienced hours of interrupted media sharing, highlighting the impact that technical failures can have on one of the world's most widely used messaging applications.
