Is Down Detector Down Right Now? Error Message Shows for Instagram, Facebook Pages
Many people check Down Detector to see if Facebook, Instagram and other popular social media platforms are "down." (Facebook and Instagram were down for many users on June 12, 2026.)
However, then Down Detector, itself, appeared to be "down." The Facebook page for the site displayed an error message but, at first, the page for Instagram loaded (and showed widespread problems). Then, the Instagram page also generated only an error message. Then, for Men's Journal, it loaded. Thus, it appeared that Down Detector was only periodically or briefly "down."
Still, some people on social media noted the irony. It was that kind of a day. "You guys are not going to believe this but I checked on the Site down detector site and it was down too lol," an X user wrote. "Not only FB down but also messenger, checked on Google, no info, down detector is also down. Weird," added another user.
Did You Check Down Detector to See if the Down Detector Is Down? Joked a Social Media User
Many users turned to X to joke about Down Detector being down. "And I'm getting this for every page on down detector!" wrote a user, sharing the error page on X. "Did u check the down detector down detector to see if the down detector is down?" responded another user.
And I'm getting this for every page on down detector! pic.twitter.com/4niol9j10V
— Donkey Gender (he/haw) (@Cantspekl) June 12, 2026
What is Down Detector? "Downdetector by Ookla® provides real-time outage monitoring, helping businesses detect, diagnose, and resolve service disruptions faster," its X page says, but there was no post about the error pages.
Andy Stone, a Communication official with Meta, took to X to share, "We're aware people are currently having trouble accessing our services. We're working on it."
"Ok so Facebook Meta servers are down with no guess when coming back. Messenger and IG are down, Threads and 4 Square also. Ironically Down Detector is also Down. Literally giving the 404 message..have we reached the end of civilization lol," wrote another X user.
When Down Detector Came Back Up, the Platform Reported Thousands of Problems With Instagram
When the Down Detector page for Instagram was back up, it did show a massive spike in problems, although they were starting to abate. "Keeps crashing over and over again," wrote one user on the page. Other people reported that they were "banned." Other people indicated that it appeared to be a global outage.
Down Detector reported that the most problems were with the app, but a sizeable portion of users were reporting that they were having trouble logging into Instagram or were having issues with publishing and posting
But another person wrote, "It's baffling how in 2026 so many of you have never heard of/never used/do not acknowledge Down Detector."
But another person added, "Surely down detector being down is a sign of the apocalypse?" Wrote another person, "Crazy even down detector isn't safe in these streets." And another person noted, "I check here in combination with down detector & going off this its not ur usual outage... Instagram threads is also down." It's not clear what caused the outages, though.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 10:44 AM.