Spotify users around the world hit pause—literally—on Wednesday afternoon as a widespread outage left many unable to stream music.

According to real-time tracking service Downdetector, more than 20,000 users began reporting issues with the app around 1:30 PM GMT. The problems weren’t limited to one region, with thousands more chiming in from the U.S. and parts of Europe.

Users quickly realized that while they could still play downloaded music, the app’s search function and artist pages were unresponsive. Any attempt to search resulted in a frustrating message:

“Something went wrong.”
A refresh button appeared, but for most, it didn’t help.

Spotify took to social media to acknowledge the issue:

“We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out.”

Later, the company told the BBC that the search-related issue had been addressed and an update was being rolled out to users. However, Spotify didn’t say how long it would take for things to return to normal across the board.

Spotify boasts more than 675 million users worldwide, and many took to social media to vent their frustration. Some said the outage ruined their gym session, others were in the middle of studying and relied on their playlists to focus.

One user tweeted:

“I can’t work out without my playlist. Fix it, Spotify!”

Others went a step further, threatening to switch to rivals like Apple Music or YouTube Music if the service wasn’t restored soon.

While outages like these are typically resolved quickly, they serve as a reminder of how dependent many of us have become on streaming services for everything from motivation at the gym to background noise while working or studying.

Spotify has yet to confirm the exact cause of the issue or provide a full resolution timeline—but for now, if you’ve got music downloaded, you’re in luck.

Source: BBC – Thousands report Spotify problems around the world

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Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, suffered widespread outages on Monday, which the billionaire attributes to a cyberattack originating from Ukraine.

Musk’s Claim: A Coordinated Cyberattack?

During an interview with Fox Business on Monday afternoon, Musk stated:

“We’re not sure exactly what happened, but there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system, with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.”

However, Musk did not provide further details about the source of the attack or whether he believes it was linked to the Ukrainian government. Experts caution that cyber attackers often spoof IP addresses, making it difficult to determine the true origin of an attack.

Timeline of the Outage

According to outage-tracking site DownDetector:

• The issues began around 6 a.m. ET, with over 20,500 users reporting problems.
• The disruptions temporarily subsided but surged again at 10 a.m. ET, affecting nearly 40,000 users.
• By 2 p.m. ET, outage reports started decreasing, and service gradually resumed.

Users reported that X was inaccessible, and the issue appeared to be global, as DownDetector’s international platforms also showed disruptions. By 4 p.m. ET, Musk confirmed that the platform was functioning again.

Musk Hints at Larger Involvement

In a post on X, Musk suggested that “a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.” However, no conclusive evidence has been provided. He also responded “Yes” to a post speculating that the attack was an attempt to silence him and his platform.

Cybersecurity expert Eric Noonan, CEO of CyberSheath, urged caution in drawing immediate conclusions:

“One of the things that should always be taken with a grain of salt is any statements made in the short period immediately after, or even during, an attack.”

Musk’s History of Cyberattack Claims

This isn’t the first time Musk has attributed service disruptions to cyberattacks. In August 2024, his conversation with Donald Trump on X was delayed by 42 minutes, which Musk suggested was due to a likely distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Similarly, Ron DeSantis’ 2023 presidential campaign announcement on X was plagued by technical issues.

DDoS attacks overwhelm servers with excessive traffic, leading to service failures. However, ransomware attacks have been more prevalent in recent years due to their financial motives, whereas DDoS attacks typically aim to cause disruption, making their sources harder to trace.

Impact of Musk’s Leadership on X’s Stability

Since acquiring X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, Musk has made significant cuts:

• Immediately fired top executives upon taking over.
• Laid off 3,500 employees, roughly 50% of the workforce, within days.
• Reduced staff by 80% in total and enforced a return-to-office policy.

These drastic changes have coincided with frequent platform glitches and outages, raising concerns about the stability of the platform under Musk’s management.

A Tough Day for Musk’s Businesses

Beyond X, Musk faced setbacks in other ventures. Tesla shares plummeted 15% on Monday, erasing all gains since Trump’s November 2024 election. Additionally, Musk’s role as head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has placed him under increased scrutiny.

This story is developing and will be updated as more details emerge.

Source

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Users around the world faced disruptions with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other applications late Wednesday evening. The issues, which affected users from Japan to Australia, were first reported at approximately 8:30 p.m., according to Down Detector.

Quick Response and Recovery

In response to the outage, OpenAI swiftly acknowledged the problem and began investigating. Around 15 minutes later, the company reported seeing signs of recovery in both its API and Sora services, reassuring users that efforts were underway to resolve the issue.

By just before midnight EST, OpenAI confirmed the outage was resolved, with a spokesperson telling FOX Business that “all systems are currently operational.”

A Repeat of Previous Issues

This recent outage follows a similar incident in late December, when OpenAI experienced a major service disruption. In that case, the issue was traced back to an upstream provider— a company that links a local internet service provider to the broader internet.

Timing and Context

Interestingly, the outage came just a day after OpenAI announced the rollout of a new, education-focused version of ChatGPT. The updated chatbot will be made available to 500,000 students and faculty at California State University as part of OpenAI’s push to expand its presence in the academic sector. This move also positions the company to compete more directly with rivals like Google’s Alphabet.

With the outage quickly resolved, OpenAI continues to address the challenges of keeping its services up and running smoothly across the globe.

Source

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