WhatsApp outage leads to circulation of fake messages

WhatsApp has now come back after facing an outage for several hours. Millions of users across the world had complained of a peculiar outage, which wasn’t allowing users to download images and videos. In fact, similar issues were faced by users of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well.

“We’re aware that some people are having trouble uploading or sending images, videos and other files on our apps. We're sorry for the trouble and are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible,” tweeted Facebook acknowledging the problem.

“Earlier today, some people and businesses experienced trouble uploading or sending images, videos and other files on our apps and platforms. The issue has since been resolved and we should be back at 100% for everyone. We're sorry for any inconvenience,” added Facebook.

Although this issue has now been resolved, there are various users who are now circulating messages that seem to be fake, and may cause unnecessary panic. “What's app will b off From 11.30pm to 6:00 am daily Declared by central govt. Message from narendra modi (PM) we have had an over usage of user names on whatsapp Messenger. We are requesting all users to forward this message to their entire contact list. If you do not forward this message, we will take it as your account is invalid and it will be deleted within the next 48 hours. DO NOT ignore my words or whatsapp will no longer recognise your activation. If you wish to re-activate your account after it has been deleted, a charge of 499.00 will be added to your monthly bill. We are also aware of the issue involving the pictures updates not showing. We are working diligently at fixing this problem and it will be up and running as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation from the modi team. WhatsApp is going to cost you money soon. The only way that it will stay free is if you are a frequent user i.e. you have at least 50 people you are chatting with. To become a frequent user send this message to 10 people who receive it (2 ticks) and your WhatsApp logo will change color. send this to 8 people to activate the new whatsapp. Saturday morning whatsapp will become chargeable. If you have at least 10 contacts send them this message. In this way we will see that you are an avid user and your logo will become blue and will remain free. (As discussed in the paper today. Whatsapp will cost  0.01€ per message. Send this message to 10 people. When you do the light will turn blue otherwise whatsapp will activate billing. ITS TRUE ...... U get blue TICKS (sic),” says one such fake message.

It would be prudent on the part of users to not forward any such message, as it is untrue. The temporary outage has now been resolved, and forwarding such messages could lead to violation of WhatsApp terms and regulations. Facebook or WhatsApp have so far not announced an intent to start charging for their services.