On February 17, 2026, YouTube experienced a significant outage that disrupted access to its platform for users worldwide. The issues began around 7:45 PM Eastern Time, with a rapid escalation by 8:00 PM. Users encountered problems accessing core features such as the homepage, subscription feeds, and Shorts, both on mobile and web applications. Notably, while the main YouTube platform faced disruptions, YouTube TV and YouTube Music remained largely unaffected.
The outage led to a surge in reports on platforms like DownDetector, with nearly 300,000 users indicating issues. Social media platforms were abuzz with users sharing their experiences and seeking information about the disruption.
By 8:20 PM ET, Google acknowledged the issue, attributing it to a malfunction in their recommendations system, which prevented videos from appearing across various surfaces on YouTube, including the homepage and apps like YouTube Music and YouTube Kids. Google reported that while the homepage was restored, they were still working on a comprehensive fix for the recommendations system.
This incident underscores the challenges faced by major digital platforms in maintaining uninterrupted service and highlights the importance of robust infrastructure to handle unforeseen technical issues.
For users seeking alternative access during such outages, direct links to videos or embedded content on other websites may still function, as was the case during this particular disruption.
As of now, Google continues to monitor the situation and is committed to restoring full functionality to all affected services.
Article X Post: Experiencing issues with YouTube? You’re not alone. A widespread outage is affecting access to the platform. Stay tuned for updates. #YouTubeDown #TechNews
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Category: Google News
