Frank Rondel
On February 16, the social network X experienced a large-scale technical failure that left users unable to access core features of the platform, reports customreceipt.com via 24tv.ua. According to reports, the disruption affected both the website and the mobile application, preventing normal use of the service.
As of 16:00 Kyiv time, neither the desktop version nor the app functioned properly. Some users attempting to log in were met only with the X logo displayed on a black background. Others were able to see a previously cached version of their feed, but no new content loaded and updates failed to refresh. Notifications and additional features were also unavailable during the incident.
Data from the monitoring service Downdetector indicates that reports of problems began to surge at 15:12 Kyiv time. Within a short period, the number of complaints exceeded 41,000 worldwide, reflecting the scale of the disruption across multiple regions.
The outage did not last long. Approximately two hours after the first widespread reports, the platform’s functionality began to be restored, and access gradually returned for users. The company did not issue an immediate explanation regarding the cause of the malfunction.
Since Elon Musk acquired control of Twitter, later rebranded as X, the company has ceased responding directly to media inquiries. Instead, journalists reportedly receive automated replies containing an explicit emoji. Similar automated responses have been implemented in some of Musk’s other companies after communication departments were significantly reduced or dissolved.
Following the billionaire’s takeover, the platform initially faced concerns over operational stability due to large-scale layoffs. Over time, however, the frequency of technical bugs reportedly decreased and the number of major disruptions declined. In recent months, extended outages have been relatively rare, although a previous incident occurred exactly one month earlier, on January 16.
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