Almost every week, one of my friends or colleagues asks on Twitter or Facebook whether Gmail or Facebook is down. Or if anyone is having connection issues with a specific Internet Service Provider (ISP).
I’ve been in that situation and I’m sure you have, too.
It’s frustrating.
You don’t know if it’s your connection, your browser, or what the issue is that’s causing downtime. You clear your browser cache, use a different browser, try another device or reboot your modem.
Usually I search Twitter to see if anyone is reporting issues with an online service. Or I visit the service to see if there’s an announcement about outages.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not do the work to find out if an online service is down.
Downdetector
Thanks to Downdetector, you can find the status of the online services you use.
Downdetector is a free online service that monitors the status of popular online services around the world.
By monitoring social media networks, Downdetector:
- Collects outage data
- Analyzes the data to determine whether the service is up or down
- Reports it on their website
What Downdetector Monitors
It’s not only Facebook and Gmail they track.
Downdetector provides status on multiple online services, including xFinity, Google, ATT, Instagram, Hulu, and more.
How Downdetector Works
According to their website, Downdetector collects status reports from numerous sources, including Twitter and reports submitted on our websites and mobile apps (Google Play and iOS)
I liked that the Downdetector home page gives a quick view of the status of online services. Chart images offer a visual representation of each service’s outage reports.
Select a service’s chart image to go to their custom Downdetector page. You’ll find service details along with possible problems.
If you want to find out quickly if a service is down, visit Downdetector Outages Overview. You’ll find an archive of outages in chronological order, with recent issues listed first.
Summary
Downdetector is a useful service I’ve added to my online toolbox.
Nothing is more frustrating than when I can’t use a service I rely on for my work. Using Downdetector saves me time and effort tracking down the status of online services.
I’d love to hear from you about what you use to monitor the online services you use. Share your thoughts in the comments.
Updated July 30, 2021 with info about mobile apps.
