Snapchat users around the world faced widespread disruption on Sunday as the popular multimedia messaging app experienced a major global outage. The issue left thousands unable to send or receive snaps, messages, or videos, with Pakistan, the UK, and France among the worst-hit regions.
According to Downdetector, a website that tracks service outages, the disruption began early Sunday and quickly gained momentum. Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar saw a surge in user complaints, with a notable number coming from the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. As the outage spread, social media was flooded with frustrated users sharing their experiences and seeking answers.
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The outage affected different aspects of the Snapchat platform. A majority of users—57%—reported being logged out of their accounts without warning. Others faced issues with content sharing (24%) and uploading (18%). By 6 PM local time, 53% of Snapchat users in Pakistan were still reporting problems with logging in, while 28% struggled to share snaps and 19% couldn’t upload content at all.
Despite the growing backlash and concern, Snapchat has not issued an official explanation for the disruption. Technology experts believe the outage may be related to server-side issues or a potential bug introduced through a recent update. The uncertainty has only fueled speculation, especially after some users reported the app worked when accessed via a Virtual Private Network (VPN), hinting at possible regional restrictions or connectivity problems tied to specific servers.
A heat map generated by Downdetector confirmed that the service failure was global, highlighting multiple hotspots across various countries. The monitoring platform, which flags outages when user complaints far exceed the usual volume, clearly indicated that Sunday’s incident was well above the norm.
As users await further communication from Snapchat’s parent company, the outage serves as a stark reminder of the dependence on digital platforms and the widespread impact when such services go dark, even temporarily.
