(UPDATED) Social media giant Facebook grappled with a global outage that left users locked out of both the app and browser versions for at least an hour, on the midnight of March 5.
As frustration mounted, users worldwide reported an unexpected mass logout and an inability to regain access, sparking account concerns.
Users attempting to log back in are encountering an additional hurdle as security codes are not being sent. The sudden and widespread nature of the outage has led many to wonder whether their accounts are *whew* safe.
Facebook was restored on March 6, around 12:30 am.
Instagram Was Also Down
Simultaneously, Instagram, another popular platform owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), also experienced technical difficulties. Users trying to access the photo-sharing app were met with an error message that said,
"Something went wrong. There's an issue and the page could not be loaded."
This unexpected disruption has prompted a surge in online panic, with users flocking to other social media platforms to express their frustrations.
Hashtags such as #Meta #FacebookandMessenger as well as #InstagramDown are rapidly trending on X (formerly Twitter) as of posting, as individuals share their experiences and seek information about the ongoing outage.
Meta Statement
Meta Communications Director Andy Stone took to X (formerly Twitter) the company's update on the outage.
"We're aware people are having trouble accessing our services. We are working on this now," he said.
Changes in Meta
Facebook's official channels have yet to issue a statement. It is also unclear when services will be restored.
A look at the company’s press room shows a statement dated March 4, where Meta announced changes in Instagram.
“Today, we are excited to announce a number of new DM features to help you better connect with friends, express yourself, and organize your inbox.
“Whether it’s a typo or something just doesn’t sound right, you can now edit messages up to 15 minutes after sending,” Meta said in the statement.
It said that a typo correction is enabled when users “press and hold on the sent message, then choose “edit” from the dropdown menu.”
There are around 80.3 million Facebook users in the Philippines, according to Statista.com.
