WhatsApp boasts of record-breaking message numbers before app crashes

WhatsApp tweeted yesterday it handled 64 billion messages in 24 hours
This figure is up from 27 billion messages a day this time last year
Reports that the app is down began appearing on Twitter this afternoon
Some users are still struggling to connect to the service, while others claim service has been restored
It is the second crash since Facebook bought the app in February

Published: 10:49 EST, 2 April 2014 | Updated: 11:37 EST, 2 April 2014

Despite the naysayers who threatened to boycott WhatsApp after Facebook bought it in February, the app recently posted its highest ever message figures.

But less than 24 hours later, reports are flooding Twitter from across the globe that the instant messaging service has crashed.

Some users are moaning they can't send messages, while others claim service is intermittent or they can't connect to it at all.

Instant messaging service WhatsApp tweeted yesterday, pictured, the service had handled 64 billion messages in 24 hours - up from 27 billion a day this time last year. However, reports that the app had crashed began appearing on Twitter this afternoon

FACEBOOK BUYS WHATSAPP

In February, social media giant Facebook acquired WhatsApp in a deal worth up to $19 billion, but this sparked concerns about privacy issues among its users.

In order to quash concerns about the Facebook acquisition, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum posted on the company's blog in March that it would not affect user privacy.

'If partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn't have done it.

'Our fundamental values and beliefs will not change. Our principles will not change. Everything that has made WhatsApp the leader in personal messaging will still be in place.'

Others who previously reported problems are now saying the issue has been restored and MailOnline has contacted WhatsApp for an official statement.

Whatsapp made its announcement about record-breaking figures via Twitter yesterday.

The official WhatsApp handle tweeted: 'New daily record: 20B messages sent (inbound) and 44B messages received (outbound) by our users = 64B messages handled in just 24 hours.'

The figures sent and received differ due to the way the app handles group messages.

For example, a message sent to a group is counted as one sent item, but is then counted as received by each individual in that group.

By comparison, WhatsApp's daily message traffic this time last year was around 27 billion a day; highlighting a significant increase in traffic.

DownDetector.com said it had received an increased number of fault reports from WhatsApp users today. An outage graph highlights these reports peaked at around 3pm GMT (10am EDT) before slowly dropping, pictured

Although reports appear to be coming from all over the globe, an outage map, pictured, from Downdetector.com pinpoints the problem in Europe

At the start of the year, WhatsApp announced it had exceeded 465 million monthly active users, higher than Twitter.

In February, social media giant Facebook announced it had acquired WhatsApp in a deal worth up to $19 billion, but this sparked concerns about privacy issues among its users.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in February in a deal worth up to $19 billion, but this sparked concerns about privacy issues among its users

Just days after the acquisition, the app went down and the company blamed the problem on 'server issues.' Full service was restored within three hours.

These problems seem to have appeared again today after web monitor DownDetector.com said it was receiving an increased number of reports from WhatsApp users.

It added that the number of users reporting issues jumped by more than 2,000 in less than two hours earlier this afternoon.

An outage graph highlights these reports peaked at around 3pm GMT (10am EDT) before slowly dropping.

Many users are linking the downtime directly to the Facebook acquisition - despite the fact the app similarly crashed in November and December last year, before the social network took over.

In order to quash concerns about the Facebook acquisition, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum posted on the company's blog in March that it would not affect user privacy.

'If partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn't have done it.

'Instead, we are forming a partnership that would allow us to continue operating independently and autonomously.'

'Our fundamental values and beliefs will not change. Our principles will not change. Everything that has made WhatsApp the leader in personal messaging will still be in place.'