Science

WhatsApp users report issues in 'last seen' online status, privacy settings

Of users who experienced problems, 67% faced issues in the 'last seen' online status and 22% in connection

By Web Desk

June 19, 2020

Most of the users who reported problems in WhatsApp were from Europe, while those in South Asia and South America were also hit with the issues. AFP/Justin Sullivan/Files

WhatsApp, a cross-platform messaging application, on Friday experienced a major outage around the world, with users reporting issues with the 'last seen' online status and inability to change privacy settings.

Many people around the world reported having problems with the Facebook-owned messaging app earlier on Friday; however, the company was yet to issue a statement addressing the problems.

According to app outage monitoring website, Down Detector, almost 400 people in Pakistan had reported facing problems in the messaging app, as of 11:31pm.

At the same time, 2,440 people in the UK had lodged reports of issues, 1,556 in India, 1,039 in France, 765 in the US, 277 in South Africa, 168 in Turkey, 157 in Canada, and 41 in Australia.

Most of the users who reported problems in WhatsApp were from Europe, while those in South Asia and South America were also hit with the issues.

'Failed to update privacy settings, please try again later,' says an alert on WhatsApp. The app 'was not able to change privacy settings; please try again later', states another.

Of the total issues, 67% pertained to 'last seen' online status and 22% was related to connection; some 10% had problems logging in.

"Who else found out on Twitter that #WhatsApp was down," asked one user on Twitter. Another wrote: "Did anyone Suddently [sic] stopped seeing last seen of his contacts and Also it doesn’t show they are online anymore?"

Other users flocked to social media, sharing memes and jokes.