A widespread outage of TikTok has troubled users globally, with reports pouring in from various regions, particularly from Russia, where social media users expressed their frustration online.
On January 25, 2025, around 09:00 Moscow time, Russians began reporting issues with the popular social media platform dedicated to short videos. According to the service monitoring website Downdetector, over 91,000 users in Russia alone complained about difficulties ranging from inability to launch the app to loading errors on the website.
The problems weren't limited to Russia; users from around the world also reported similar issues after the outbreak of the outage early Thursday morning. “The number of complaints about the TikTok outage exceeded 600,” stated the platform's user monitoring service. Nearly 80% of the complaining users noted failures to download the application successfully.
Where reports were flooding in, the issues appeared most concentrated among users located within Moscow, where approximately 23% of complaints originated. Other regions such as the Tver and Kirov oblasts were also noted to be highly affected, alongside typical hotspots like Novosibirsk and Saint Petersburg, both registering 7% of reported issues.
“TikTok hasn’t been working for everyone for hours, all over the world,” indicated one frustrated user on social media, reflecting widespread sentiment. Users shared their dismay and confusion, with many highlighting how disconnection from the app affected their day. One lamented, “I hope this is temporary,” expressing concerns of the prolonged disruption.
Interestingly, speculation around the outage's cause included references to simultaneous external factors, such as content blockades linked to potential election activities occurring elsewhere, leading to disruptions for users utilizing TikTok through alternative browsing methods.
Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency overseeing communications, confirmed the platform's outage but refrained from providing details about the cause.
“Roskomnadzor confirmed the TikTok outage,” reports mentioned, with analysts saying these issues are symptomatic of broader network vulnerabilities.
Historically, TikTok faced bans and restrictions within Russia due to regulatory challenges, including its temporary suspension from distributing new content back in 2022. Such events led to increased scrutiny of app accessibility, with some associations advocating for limitations on TikTok to encourage the growth of domestic video-sharing platforms.
TikTok has not issued any official comments since problems arose, leaving millions of users wondering about the stability of the service they rely on for entertainment and community engagement. With past instances of outages rekindling debates over service reliability and governance, the latest disruption has reignited these concerns, underscoring the platform's power and influence over digital life.
Continuing past incidents, as well as the impending need for regulatory oversight, will likely shape the future of video-sharing services like TikTok within Russia's digital ecosystem. Until clarity surrounding user experience returns, many will remain anxious about how such outages can impact their content consumption and social connections.
The combination of user attempts, government confirmations, and UU complaints continues to raise the stakes for TikTok as they navigate this latest challenge, ensuring users are kept informed and mitigate fears of recurring disruptions.