The messaging platform WhatsApp has gone down for users around the world.

Users of the platform, owned by Meta, began reporting issues just before 08:00 British Standard Time on Tuesday, according to the BBC.

More than 12,000 reports were posted within half an hour, according to the service status website Down Detector.

Many people have complained on social media that they can not send or receive messages. WhatsApp has about two billion global active users.

It is one of the most popular messaging platforms in many parts of the world.