Johannesburg - Instant messaging service WhatsApp has experienced downtime around the world, leaving many users unable to send and receive messages over the app.
Downdetector.co.za, which measures the downtime of social networks and other websites, reported that the service had received 3 496 reports of issues in South Africa from around 23:00 on Wednesday night, with 58 reports by 08:00 on Thursday morning.
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UK-based publication the Daily Mail reported that for two hours, users could not send and receive messages overnight.
Africa, Europe, South America and the US experienced downtime with WhatsApp hashtags #WhatsAppDown and #WhatsAppisDown trending on the social network.
By Thursday morning, the instant messaging app was restored to full functionality.
WhatsApp, which is owned by parent company and social network Facebook, was said to have a user base of over 1 billion by February 2016.