WhatsApp outage: Some users face issues while downloading videos
WhatsApp is reportedly down for some users in India. According to Downdetector, the app has been facing issues since last night, continuing today as well. Taking to Twitter, affected users reported that they were facing a problem where they were unable to download videos received on the app. However, the issue appears to be more prevalent among Android beta users.
Why does this story matter?
We have grown increasingly dependent on WhatsApp, be it for relaying important messages, engaging in group conversations, sharing files, placing calls, sending/receiving money, shopping, or simply just staying in touch with friends and family. Given the app's popularity and its role in our day-to-day activities, an outage of any kind is bound to affect users.
One of the users reported the issue on April 15
43% of users reported issues while using the app
Per Downdetector, 43% of users reported issues while using the app, 41% due to server connection, and 16% faced problems in sending messages. WhatsApp has not commented on the ongoing issue as yet. The app is said to be testing a new video message feature which might be the reason behind the problem encountered in the beta version.
What is the video message feature?
Video messages are not the same as the video files which are shared on WhatsApp. The new feature would allow users to send 60-second-long video messages. Such messages would have a circular shape to distinguish them from regular video messages, per WABetaInfo, and they can neither be saved nor forwarded. The new option is currently under development and is not accessible as yet.
These cities in India were most affected by the outage
According to the heat chart on Downdetector, users across major cities were affected by the outage in the past 24 hours. The list includes Chandigarh, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
A new update is rolling out to beta users
Per WABetaInfo, a new update is rolling out to beta users which should solve the issue with downloading videos on the app. In case the problem still persists, you can try using WhatsApp Web or the desktop app. Users on the beta version of the WhatsApp Business app also reportedly experienced a similar video bug and it also remains to be fixed.
