Millions in Pakistan are fixated on Snapchat streaks, doing everything possible to make sure that small ‘fire’ emoji doesn’t disappear. But on Sunday, all hell broke loose when the app stopped working all over Pakistan. This has sparked a lot of confusion nationwide. As the app continues to not work in the region, users are confused whether Snapchat is down in general or has been banned. Either way, what is the reason?
Snapchat Outage: What Happened?
Reports of problems began to surface early in the day, with users in major cities like Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar experiencing difficulties. The disruption was not limited to Pakistan; users in the UK, France, and other countries also reported similar issues. According to Downdetector, a website that monitors online service outages, thousands of people worldwide were affected. About 57% of affected users said they were unexpectedly logged out, while 24% faced problems sharing content, and 18% had difficulty uploading media.
Read More:Â When is 5G Technology Coming to Pakistan?
In Pakistan, Downdetector’s data showed that 53% of users reported being unable to access the app. Over 28% had problems sharing and 19% could not upload anything as of 6pm on Sunday.
No Official Statement from Snapchat
What made matters worse was the radio silence from Snapchat itself. For hours, there was no official acknowledgment from the company. No tweets. No press release. No in-app notice. When a platform millions rely on goes down, users deserve transparency. A simple status update would have gone a long way.
However, tech analysts suggest that a server-side disruption or an update-related glitch could be the reason behind the global service failure.
Interestingly, some users have reported that Snapchat works when accessed through a Virtual Private Network (VPN), raising further questions about whether the issue could be region-specific or tied to server access restrictions.
A heat map from Downdetector highlighted trouble spots around the world, confirming that the outage was not isolated to one country. The platform only flags outages when the number of problem reports far exceeds the usual daily average, which was clearly the case during this incident.
Gone for Good?
Some users came to X to share their opinions that the app being down is not a significant issue. Perhaps it’s gone for good (if it is banned). Some people think it was not widely used, nonetheless and serves no good purpose, so the panic is baseless. Others who depended on the app stated concerns and kept on asking for updates. The streaks are too important to lose.
Snapchat’s crash in Pakistan showed how much people depend on these apps for daily communication. When something goes wrong, users deserve to be kept in the loop.
Stay tuned to Brandsynario for latest news and updates