YouTube down: App outage hits major US cities, users report blank screens and streaming issues

Thousands of users across the United States faced problems using YouTube on Friday after the platform went down unexpectedly around 1 p.m. Eastern Time. 

The outage affected both the website and mobile app, with users reporting blank screens and failures to stream videos.

YouTube outage affects thousands across major US cities

According to data from Downdetector, a site that tracks online service issues, the worst-hit areas include major cities such as New York City, Washington DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. 

Users in these locations said they were unable to access video content, and in many cases, were met with empty screens when trying to use the platform.

Of the reports submitted, 79% related to problems with the website, 18% cited video streaming issues, and 3% were about the mobile app.

As of now, YouTube has not released an official statement or provided details about the cause of the outage. 

How people are reacting to the outage

Many users took to social media to express their frustration, with some saying they rely on the platform for work, education, or daily entertainment.

Sharing the screenshot of their YouTube, a person wrote, Anybody else's youtube broken??" Meanwhile, another person commented, “Is YouTube down for anyone? Nothing is loading.”

This is one of the more widespread outages YouTube has experienced in recent months, and it comes during peak usage hours in several US time zones.

While service appears to be returning gradually for some users, others continue to report problems accessing videos. Users are hoping for a quick response and clear communication from YouTube. 

No official statement has been released by YouTube.