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A widespread YouTube outage affected users across the United States, Singapore, Australia, and India on February 18, disrupting access to videos and causing issues across multiple parts of the platform. Users in the UK and Mexico also reported problems, according to Downdetector, a site that tracks user-reported service interruptions.
The issue originated in YouTube’s recommendation system, preventing videos from appearing on the homepage and other sections of the platform, including the YouTube app, YouTube Music, and YouTube Kids. In an update on X, TeamYouTube stated that while the homepage functionality had been restored, the company was continuing to work on a full resolution.
At the height of the outage, over 329,000 users in the US reported problems on Downdetector around 9:18 a.m. Singapore time, with reports gradually declining to 18,338 by 10:18 a.m. In Singapore, roughly 2,900 users experienced disruptions around 9:20 a.m., a number that fell to just over 125 by 10:30 a.m. Meanwhile, in Australia, reports peaked at 11,872 users at approximately 9:14 a.m. before falling to 503 by 10:30 a.m. In India, the site recorded 19,250 reports at 9:50 a.m., dropping to 780 by 10:30 a.m.
Some users also faced login problems on YouTube TV and related Google services, though these issues were linked to the broader platform outage. Reports for YouTube TV in the US fell from 8,923 at 9:18 a.m. to 734 by 10:30 a.m., while Google service issues dropped from 2,694 to 279 in the same period.
Observers noted that, during the outage, the YouTube homepage appeared blank in certain regions, although video links remained accessible and playable. By 10:40 a.m. Singapore time, the platform’s functions were largely restored, and service disruptions had decreased significantly across all affected countries.
YouTube confirmed it is investigating the incident and working to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
