WhatsApp Crashes on New Year's Eve, Angers Users

While most of the people around the world were celebrating the coming of a new year, WhatsApp users were complaining and angry with connection problems on Thursday.

Users of the mobile applications from various parts of the world like America, Canada, Europe and even South Africa expressed dissatisfaction on the messages that were not sent to recipients on New Year's Eve, as per News24.

It added that many thought there was something wrong with their phones or mobile networks until a spokesperson for the application confirmed an outage.

"Some people have had trouble accessing WhatsApp for a short period today [Thursday]; we're working to restore service back to 100% for everyone," the spokesperson was quoted by News24 as saying.

The same report indicated that the main problem with the application on Android and iOS was that it could not connect to a working data or Wi-Fi connection.

Daily Mail detailed that service for WhatsApp was fluctuating since it would go up in 45 minutes then crash again.

Users who opened the chat with another person or group could see the word "connecting" instead of the name of their contact to group.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp users who tried to use the service were prompted with this error message: "WhatsApp Web requires a working internet connection, which you don't have at the moment."

Other similar problems that users experienced were delayed messages and the inability to reply. But News24 noted that not all users experience the problem.

WhatsApp, as per Google Play, is a messaging application that uses a phone's Internet connection to send messages to other app users.

It recently made the headlines last December when it was banned for 12 hours in Brazil after it refused to provide a court user information needed in a criminal case.

Macleans detailed that the blocking of the popular app in Brazil came after the refusal of the company to provide user information needed for a criminal case, which was believed to involve a notorious drug group.

According to Reuters, the drug group was identified as the PCC or the First Command of the Capital, which allegedly used WhatsApp to commit crimes in the area of San Bernardo de Campo, a municipality of Sao Paulo.

It added that a judge in the locality ordered the suspension of WhatsApp for 48 hours since the company did not comply with two judicial rulings asking for information on the said case.

The suspension was, however, lifted by a state judge who instead recommended for a higher fine to be imposed on the California-based company.