YouTube is back up and running after a major outage that affected users around the world earlier today. The video-sharing platform, owned by Googleexperienced a technical issue that disrupted normal service for hundreds of thousands of people before being restored.
Service Restored — YouTube Is Working Again
According to an official post from the TeamYouTube support account on X (formerly Twitter), the platform’s homepage has been restored and most users should now be able to access YouTube normally. This update comes after a period of widespread disruption affecting the app, homepage, and recommendations system.
TeamYouTube shared the latest status update, confirming that the video platform was coming back online for most users and that their teams were continuing to monitor performance while they complete a full fix.
Aaaand we’re back!! This issue has been fixed across YouTube. Thanks for all the reports and for bearing with us while we sorted it out ❤️
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 18, 2026
What Caused the Outage?
The recent disruption was linked to a problem with YouTube’s recommendations systema core backend component that determines what videos appear on user homepages and feeds. When this system malfunctioned, many users saw blank home screens or error messages instead of their usual video suggestions.
Outage tracking website Downdetector logged more than 300,000 reports from users around the globe at the height of the incident, with complaints coming from regions including the United States, India, Australia, and Europe.
How Users Were Affected
While the main video playback functionality often still worked during the outage, users experienced issues such as:
Homepage failing to load recommended videos
Blank screens on both desktop and mobile apps
Problems with YouTube Music and YouTube Kids feeds
Intermittent login errors for some users
These issues caused a large spike in complaints on social media, with hashtags like #YouTubeDown trending on platforms such as X during the peak of the disruption.
What You Can Do If You Still See Issues
If you encounter any lingering problems after the outage, try these simple steps:
Refresh the YouTube page or app
Clear the app cache on your device
Restart your mobile or browser
Ensure you’re running the latest version of the YouTube app
In many cases, these basic fixes help resolve minor glitches as services fully stabilise.
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