Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of Whatsapp logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. — Reuters

WhatsApp users around the world faced widespread disruption on Tuesday night as the messaging platform experienced a major outage, leaving millions unable to send or receive messages.

According to Downdetector, which tracks service disruptions, the first reports emerged shortly around 7pm in Pakistan, with the number of complaints sharply increasing within an hour.

Users from several countries — including the UK, Pakistan, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Italy, and the United States — reported that chats failed to load and messages were not being delivered.

The problem affected both mobile and web versions of the app.

In Pakistan, the outage peaked around 8pm with over a hundred reports of connection failures, while thousands of similar complaints were logged globally.

Downdetector's data indicated that more than 80% of the reported issues related to WhatsApp Web, suggesting users were unable to connect through browsers, Mirror UK reported.

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has yet to comment on the cause of the disruption or provide a timeline for service restoration.

The platform has over three billion monthly active users worldwide.