YouTube outage cause revealed: Heres what we know
Source: Mashable Tech
Overview
YouTube suffered a global outage on Tuesday, with thousands of users reporting issues from around 8:00 p.m. ET. The cause has now been identified.
Cause of the Outage
In a statement posted to the official TeamYouTube X account, YouTube explained that the outage was triggered by a problem with the recommendations system – the algorithm that suggests videos based on a user’s viewing history. The company also posted additional details on a Google support page.
“An issue with our recommendations system prevented videos from appearing across surfaces on YouTube (including the homepage, the YouTube app, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids). The homepage is back, but we’re still working on a full fix — more coming soon!”
Subsequent Updates
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Shortly after the initial notice:
“We’re also seeing a small number of reports that some people are unable to login to YouTube TV. This is related to the broader issue across YouTube, and we’re also working on a fix here.” -
Final update (around 10:15 p.m. ET):
“The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal! We really appreciate you bearing with us while we sorted this out.”
Impact
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Downdetector reported a spike in activity, logging more than 1.6 million user error reports in the 24 hours following the outage. About half of these reports originated in the United States, though users worldwide experienced problems with both the app and website.
(Disclosure: Mashable and Downdetector share the same parent company, Ziff Davis.) -
Australia:
Mashable was unable to load YouTube; the page displayed only the sidebar and search bar on a blank screen.
Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable
Recent High‑Profile Outages
The internet has seen several notable service disruptions in recent months, affecting:
These incidents serve as a reminder of the importance of diversifying our online activities—and perhaps stepping outside for a bit of fresh air.
Updated Feb. 17, 2026, 10:26 p.m. EST with additional statements from YouTube/Google.