YouTube said on Tuesday, February 17, that it had resolved an issue which briefly disrupted access to its video sharing platform. The company confirmed the fix after outage tracking website Downdetector reported widespread global disruptions.
Recommendation System Fault Identified
According to YouTube, the disruption stemmed from a fault within its recommendation system. As a result, videos failed to appear across multiple YouTube surfaces. Users reported difficulty accessing suggested content, while some said their home feeds appeared empty.
However, YouTube moved quickly to address the problem. In an official update, the company stated that it had resolved the issue affecting its recommendations system. Consequently, all major platforms returned to normal operation shortly afterwards.
“The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved, and all of our platforms are back to normal,” the company said.
The update confirmed that services including YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, YouTube Kids, and YouTube TV were functioning as usual again.
Widespread User Reports
At the height of the disruption, Downdetector recorded more than 320,000 user reports of YouTube issues in the United States alone. The surge in complaints indicated that the outage had a broad impact, particularly during peak usage hours.
Meanwhile, Downdetector clarified that its figures rely on user submitted reports. Therefore, the actual number of affected users may differ from the reported total. Nevertheless, the volume of complaints suggested a significant temporary breakdown in service.
Services Restored To Normal
Although the disruption lasted only a short time, it drew rapid attention across social media and online forums. Users sought clarification as videos failed to load or recommendations disappeared from their feeds.
However, once YouTube confirmed the fix, access stabilised across its platforms. The company did not provide further details about the technical cause of the malfunction. Instead, it focused on reassuring users that systems were operating normally again.
Overall, the incident highlighted how central recommendation systems have become to the platform’s functionality. Even brief interruptions can affect millions of users worldwide. Nevertheless, the swift resolution limited the duration of the disruption and restored regular service across all platforms.
With inputs from Reuters