Get All Access for $5/mo

Down Bad: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Messenger All Crashed on Wednesday The social media platforms took a hit for thousands of users late Wednesday afternoon.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When other social media platforms appear to be down, the masses tend to run to Twitter to see if others are encountering the same issues.

But where do people run when it's Twitter that appears to be down and no one is able to Tweet about it?

That was the question plaguing millions of users Wednesday night when the platform went defunct after owner Elon Musk rolled out an update that left many unable to use the most basic feature of the platform — posting a Tweet.

Twitter Support acknowledged the issue around 6:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

According to DownDetector, outages peaked at around 5:06 p.m. EST when 9,491 users reported an issue with the site. Reports dropped to a low of 34 users with issues at around 3:51 a.m. EST on Thursday morning.

Most users were receiving messages saying "You are over the daily limit for sending Tweets," prompting the platform to ask them whether or not they wanted to save their Tweet as a draft or delete it.

Others were complaining that they were unable to follow new users or see their new followers.

The bug came following the roll-out of Musk's new initiative to allow select (for now) users to post 4,000 character long Tweets, per Gizmodo. Tweets are currently set at a 248-character limit.

Musk commented on Wednesday's issues just after midnight EST on Thursday morning, acknowledging that something was awry and that the service should be working as usual at some point on Thursday.

Twitter wasn't the only social media platform that faced issues Wednesday.

Social media users complained of bugs with Meta's Instagram and Messenger, which briefly left people unable to post Stories and in-feed Posts. There were also reports of errors when sending messages and other glitches.

Instagram reached a peak of 7,565 users reporting issues around 4:20 p.m. EST on Wednesday while Messenger showed over 1,186 users reporting issues around the same time.

"A technical issue caused some people to have trouble accessing our products. We resolved the issue as quickly as possible," a spokesperson for Meta spokesperson told Reuters.

Both have since been resolved.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

I Tried Buying a Car on Amazon. Here Are the Pros and Cons.

Amazon Autos just launched, and users can buy a new car online. Here's how it works and what needs to improve.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says the Best Entrepreneurs Are Good at This One Thing

Real estate entrepreneur and investor Barbara Corcoran says a few key traits prove effective when starting a business. Here's her top pick.

Growing a Business

How to Prepare Your Small Business for Impactful Investor Partnerships That Go Beyond Funding

Here's how investorpreneurs transform startups with mentorship and strategic investments.

Business News

Alexis Ohanian Says This Is His Best Investment So Far: $10,000 Turned Into More Than $17 Million

Ohanian has backed 40 unicorns, but one investment stands out the most.