A significant YouTube outage has impacted users worldwide, starting at approximately 7:50pm ET / 12:50am GMT, making it difficult or impossible to load videos, access channels, or use YouTube TV. The disruption triggered a massive spike in reports, with over 280,000 complaints logged in the US and more than 30,000 in the UK on Downdetector.
Many users reported error messages, buffering issues, or complete service unavailability. The YouTube outage seems to be caused by a backend or infrastructure-related issue rather than a local problem, given its global reach.
Content creators faced challenges as livestreams were interrupted and uploads delayed, while businesses relying on YouTube for marketing or customer engagement were similarly affected. This incident highlights how critical YouTube has become for both individuals and organisations.
In a statement, YouTube confirmed awareness of the global issues, assuring users that engineering teams were investigating the problem. Updates were promised as soon as more information became available.
Outages of this magnitude are rare for platforms operated by Google, which normally maintain near-constant uptime. Users are advised to monitor official support channels for updates and avoid unofficial fixes. Service gradually returned in some regions, though full stability may take longer depending on location.