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WhatsApp back online after global outage hits users

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  • We have fixed the issue and apologise for any inconvenience, says WhatsApp’s parent company Meta.
  • The company did not disclose the reason for the outage.
  • WhatsApp has become a critical means of communication for households and businesses.

Messaging app WhatsApp was starting to come back online at 2pm Pakistan time (0900 GMT) and the company said the issue has been fixed after users across the world reported problems earlier on Tuesday.

At around 12:50pm (0750 GMT), outage reporting site Downdetector had shown over 68,000 users had reported problems with the app in the United Kingdom. Problems were reported by 19,000 people in Singapore and 15,000 people in South Africa, Pakistan and other countries as well.

“We know people had trouble sending messages on WhatsApp today. We have fixed the issue and apologise for any inconvenience,” a spokesperson for WhatsApp parent company Meta Platforms said.

The company did not disclose the reason for the outage.

WhatsApp has become a critical means of communication for households and businesses. When WhatsApp had an hours-long outage last October, it hit trading of assets from cryptocurrencies to oil, before traders switched to alternative platforms such as Telegram.

“This highlights the significance of vast hosting companies directing data around the internet along with companies and individuals relying on single points of communication,” said Jack Moore, advisor at Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm ESET.

“Multiple areas will inevitably be significantly impacted as a result of this downtime, along with a predicted financial hit but lessons from other recent prominent times when the internet has gone down will have hopefully taught many to have access to other forms of communication.”

WhatsApp’s latest outage came during the festive season in India — its biggest market by user count — when people use the platform even more than usual to send season’s greetings.

Shares of WhatsApp-parent Meta Platforms fell 0.7% to $128.85 in premarket trading following the outage.

The company had not sent any fresh updates as users in Asia, India and the United Kingdom started seeing some connections come back online.

#whatsappdown was trending on Twitter, with more than 142000 tweets and hundreds of memes flooding the internet.

“Everyone who noticed #whatsapp is down have come to twitter to confirm it,” says one Twitter user.

In the past, rival apps like Telegram, Snap or even Meta’s Instagram have seen temporary spikes in users when WhatsApp has been down.

While WhatsApp boasts of over two billion monthly active users and have become a mainstay for messaging in most countries, Telegram has taken up the challenger role with about 700 million users. 

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Schools will not be open on Saturday.

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In all educational institutions under federal management, the Saturday holiday has been formally eliminated by the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

According to a notification released on Friday, the decision was made to make up for the disruptions to academic activities caused by recent school closures. The ruling is set to take effect tomorrow, November 30, and will last until February 1, 2025.

The school holiday on Saturday

This implies that, as of tomorrow, Saturday will be regarded as a complete working day in educational institutions under the control of the FDE.

According to FDE authorities, the decision was made because extended holidays and unplanned closures had a major negative impact on students’ education. To guarantee that students receive the necessary instructional time and finish their syllabus on time, the notification read.

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Users of WhatsApp respond to the new animated “Typing” bubble

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Many people have expressed their displeasure with the new function, which has caused a great deal of anger. The upgrade was reportedly released with little notice.

According to details, this update, which users claim was implemented with minimal prior notice, has led to considerable frustration among many, who perceive the new feature as distracting and unnecessary.

The well-known “typing” indicator, previously displayed at the top of conversations, has now been replaced by a moving chat bubble positioned below the most recent message. Despite the seemingly insignificant change, several people have already voiced their displeasure.

A flood of complaints has been posted on social media sites, with many calling the new feature “annoying” and “unhelpful” and drawing comparisons to the typing animation in Apple’s iMessage. According to one user, the animation “deliberately induces anxiety.”

Notwithstanding the criticism, the update—which represents yet another redesign of the app—is expected to be made available to all WhatsApp users soon, though not all users are persuaded that it improves the overall experience.

Prior to this, WhatsApp declared that it would be releasing a new feature in the near future that would allow users to add a message to any sent item, enhancing the app’s functionality.

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WhatsApp is launching a feature that allows users to personalize material that is forwarded.

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The upcoming update from WhatsApp is expected to bring a novel feature that will increase the app’s adaptability by allowing users to add a message to any sent material.

Users of the Meta-owned messaging platform will soon be able to add a new message after a forwarded message thanks to an impending update, according to WABetaInfo.

Beta testers can currently test the most recent WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.24.25.3, which is accessible through the Google Play Store, even though this upgrade is expected to be released in the future.

Previously, media assets like pictures, videos, and GIFs were the only ones with this feature, regardless of whether they had a caption.

It is now possible for users to add a customized message to any kind of forwarded content, including documents, links, and text messages.

With little effort, users may now easily add necessary context or explanations to the transmitted content thanks to this improvement.

Notably, users can also add a new message to plain text messages or other content that was not forwarded in the first place.

For example, a user can ensure clarity in communication by adding a personalized comment or an explanation while forwarding a text message to a group chat with a contact.

This functionality comes in very handy when a forwarded message needs more information.

When a user transmits a link to a news article, for instance, they may now contribute their views or a summary right away, doing away with the need for a separate follow-up message.

Similarly, users can add instructions or more details to a text message before forwarding it, which improves clarity and reduces the possibility of miscommunication.

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