WhatsApp Down, Not Connecting: Outage For Popular Chat App Reported By Users

The popular international chat app WhatsApp is currently down and experiencing connection problems, according to user and social media reports on the outage.

WhatsApp users in regions including South America and Europe have reported problems including poor connectivity and an inability to send or receive messages. Users will potentially see an unending loading icon on their chat window.

According to a spokesperson via Reuters, WhatsApp is aware of the outage problem and is looking to find a solution. Per the site Down Detector, reports that WhatsApp was down peaked at around 4:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday. WhatsApp previously created a Twitter account to document service outages, but the account has not actively been used since 2014.

For international and most non-American users, WhatsApp is a central part of their day-to-day life. The popular chat app allows users to securely receive messages over Wi-Fi or cellular networks and as an alternative chat option to standard SMS text messages, WhatsApp has an estimated 1.2 billion users worldwide.

On social media, users expressed their dismay with WhatsApp's service outage: