Facebook is down: Social media site not working as users struggle to get online

Thousands of users unable to load site or log in

Chris Baynes
Saturday 26 August 2017 10:47 EDT
Comments
Facebook has gone down for many users
Facebook has gone down for many users (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Facebook has gone down for many users, with thousands reporting they cannot access the social media site.

Some users were told the website was undergoing "required maintenance" on Saturday afternoon as they attempted to log on.

Down Detector, a website that tracks internet outages, reported a large spike in users being unable to access Facebook at about 2.15pm.

Most users reported a "total blackout", meaning the site would not load, or that they were unable to log in to their accounts.

Some could access the site but were unable to load certain pages, upload pictures, like posts, or send messages. But others had no problems.

The technical problems appeared to be affecting Facebook's desktop site and mobile application.

Users across the world, including the Europe, the US, Brazil, Japan and Australia were unable to log on, according to Down Detector's map.

At its peak the website was receiving 1,869 reports of outages.

Some users of Instagram, the picture-sharing app owned by Facebook, have also reported issues.

The technical problems appeared to be resolved for many users shortly before 3.30pm.

Facebook has been approached for a statement.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in