Facebook-owned services, WhatsApp and Instagram, are down on Monday, leaving some three billion online users frustrated and unable to connect all over the world.

The social tools including Facebook’s own Messenger service were first reported as not being available from 04:25 pm GMT on Monday.

Users visiting the social platforms owned by Silicon Valley guru Mark Zuckerberg are confronted with error messages.

On Twitter, @WhatsApp wrote, “We’re aware that some people are experiencing issues with WhatsApp at the moment.

“We’re working to get things back to normal and will send an update here as soon as possible.

“Thanks for your patience!”

Meanwhile:

Twitter celebrates as users flock from Facebook and Instagram

At least Twitter is enjoying itself. It has responded to the outage from its official account.

Facebook was Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

Facebook derived its name from the face book directories often given to American university students.

In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for approximately US$1 billion in cash and stock.

Instagram (from Facebook) allows you to create and share your photos, stories, and videos with the friends and followers you care about.

In 2014, Facebook also acquired WhatsApp for approximately US$19.3 billion.

The platform has become the primary means of internet communication in multiple locations, including Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, and large parts of Europe and Africa.

Facebook has been instrumental to the flow of information globally over these years.