"I went to apple I fear": Fans react as Spotify announces restoration of services after users reported it was down globally

Spotify users around the world faced a major disruption on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, as the popular music streaming platform experienced a global outage lasting over five hours.

According to The Guardian, the technical issue, which began around 6:20 am EDT, left users unable to stream music, access their libraries, or use the app’s search features. Spotify acknowledged the problem at 8:45 am EDT with a tweet from its @SpotifyStatus account, saying:

"We're aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!"

User complaints rapidly increased, and Downdetector, a site that tracks real-time service interruptions, recorded over 48,000 reports at the peak of the outage. The United Kingdom saw a noticeable spike at around 1:30 pm BST, just 30 minutes after the problems began in the region, as stated by The Guardian.

In total, users from across the U.S., Europe, and other regions reported that the streaming platform's mobile app and website had become unresponsive. By 11:45 am EDT, Spotify confirmed to media outlets that services had been restored. Later, at 5:08 pm BST, the company posted again on X (formerly Twitter), stating:

"All clear – thanks for your patience. Get in touch with @SpotifyCares if you still need help."

Throughout the disruption, many users turned to X (formerly Twitter) to share their experience and frustrations.

"I went to apple I fear," one X user commented.

"It took them forever. me and my girls are using YouTube music now," another user wrote.

"Apple music never has this problem btw," a user remarked.

Fans reacted with a mix of humor, frustration, and relief during and after the music app outage. Some joked about switching to other platforms, while others welcomed the return of their music routines.

"This is what surviving a near death experience must feel like," an X user wrote.

"Glad to hear Spotify is back! Hopefully, everyone can get back to enjoying their favorite tunes without interruption," another user commented.

"Good news for music lovers everywhere," a user remarked.

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Spotify confirms outage and denies security breach amid app and website failures

During the downtime, users reported that downloaded music was still accessible, but other core functionalities were broken. Search functions failed to load, artist pages were unavailable, and in many cases, the app displayed a "something went wrong" error message along with a refresh button, as stated by The Guardian.

The disruption affected the streaming platform's web and mobile apps alike. According to Downdetector's breakdown, about 62% of the reports involved the app, 24% involved streaming failures, and 14% related to problems with the website, as reported by Money Control.

In a statement to several outlets, a platform spokesperson confirmed:

"Spotify experienced an outage today beginning around 6:20am EDT. As of 11:45am EDT, Spotify is back up and functioning normally."

The company also responded to online speculation suggesting the outage may have been caused by a cyberattack. The spokesperson clarified:

"The reports of this being a security hack are completely inaccurate."

According to The Guardian, though the music app has not shared the exact cause of the problem, it told BBC that the issue affecting the search function has been addressed and that updates were being rolled out to users to improve functionality.

After nearly half a day of partial service, the streaming platform's systems were brought back online, and user complaints dropped significantly by the afternoon.

According to Newsweek, with normal functionality now restored, users can resume access to the music app's full library of 100 million songs, 6.5 million podcasts, and 350,000 audiobooks.