Is Facebook down? How & Why?

How many times has Facebook gone down?

Facebook has faced numerous outages over the years, though there isn’t a precise count, as some minor outages may not be widely reported. Major incidents, however, have been documented several times each year. For instance, significant outages occurred in 2019, October 2021, March 2022, and periodically in 2023 and 2024. These incidents have affected Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, all owned by Meta. Such large-scale outages often last several hours, impacting users globally.

Why does Facebook go down?

1. Technical and Configuration Errors: The primary reason for Facebook’s outages has been internal technical issues. Often, these are linked to configuration errors in their server or routing settings. For example, in 2021, a misconfiguration in Facebook’s Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) led to a six-hour global outage, impacting Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This type of error disrupts the pathways that direct internet traffic to Facebook’s servers, effectively making the site inaccessible.
2. Software and System Updates: Meta frequently updates its infrastructure, which sometimes introduces bugs or errors that disrupt service. Software updates are necessary for maintenance and improvements but occasionally cause outages due to unforeseen issues.
3. Overloaded Servers: Sudden surges in traffic, whether due to a viral event or a glitch that sends excess traffic to Facebook’s servers, can strain its network and cause temporary outages. The demand can exceed server capacity, leading to slowdowns or interruptions.

These frequent outages underscore the complexity of maintaining such a massive, interconnected infrastructure.

“Also learn about Facebook History: https://usatimely.com/technology/when-was-facebook-created-who-owns-it/“