WhatsApp outage leaves thousands users unable to share media; ‘I thought my WiFi was trash’
Thousands of WhatsApp users on Monday complained about problems with the messaging platform, reporting that they were unable to send pictures, videos or create a Status update. As per outage tracking website Downdetector, the issue appears to have affected users across various parts of the world, including India, the US, Mexico and the UK.
“Whenever I try to send an image on WhatsApp, I get as far as the image appearing in the chat with a spinning wheel, then it just says ‘retry’. I can still receive images and I can still send images in other apps. How can I fix this for WhatsApp?” wrote one user on Reddit.
“Oh how reassuring it was to Google ‘why can’t I send photos on WhatsApp’ and be met with a thread made within the hour. Don’t make a girl look at settings after a long day,” wrote another user.
“This is happening with recent photos/screenshots only. Even photos from the morning are sending easily,” added another user.
“I uninstalled my #WhatsApp and accidentally deleted all my WhatsApp files (most importantly my stickers) just to realize it was a worldwide issue that has been going on 🥲🥲🥲🥲,” wrote a user on X.
“And here I was thinking I had no data and that my WiFi was trash and nooo turns out WhatsApp crashed 💀🤦♀️,” another user wrote.
The issue, however, seems to have been resolved since then, with reports on Downdetector seeing a steady decline across various countries. However, an official statement from Meta or WhatsApp is still awaited on the matter.
WhatsApp puts user accounts under review for 24 hours:
In related news, WhatsApp also placed many users’ accounts under review for 24 hours, restricting access to all app features. As per a PTI report, the issue surfaced around 8 p.m. IST, when users began reporting that their accounts had been placed under review.
Affected users were reportedly shown a message on the app stating: “Account in review. Date requested: 3 Aug 2026. Your account activity and device info is being checked to make sure it follows our Terms of Service. We will notify you of the result, typically within 24 hours.”
The notification also included links to guidance on responsible use of WhatsApp and information about stolen phones and compromised accounts.
Responding to the issue, a WhatsApp spokesperson told PTI that the company continuously works to prevent misuse of its platform but acknowledged that mistakes can occur.
“We are always working to stay ahead of those trying to abuse our service and ban accounts to help keep other users safe. Sometimes we get this wrong and if we do, we try to fix it as quickly as possible to get people back to chatting,” the spokesperson said.
