Facebook access has been restored for many users in Australia, but the biggest outage to ever affect the social media network is still being felt in other parts of the world.

Key points: Facebook is yet to explain what caused the outages on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram

Facebook is yet to explain what caused the outages on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram Sporadic outages are still being felt in many parts of the world

Sporadic outages are still being felt in many parts of the world Some Australian users reported being able to access their accounts from around 1.00pm (AEST)



Messenger and Instagram accounts were also crippled by the unexplained shutdown, which Facebook acknowledged without providing a reason.

According to downdetector.com, which monitors websites, the outages started about 3:00am (AEST) on Thursday in parts of the US, Europe and elsewhere.

Attempts by the ABC to log into Facebook, or load Instagram feeds, were unsuccessful throughout the morning, but users in Australia and in some parts of the world began reporting they were finally able to access their accounts at around 1:00pm (AEST).

While users in parts of Australia are able to log in, others from the United States to the United Arab Emirates are still reporting issues.

For some users, attempts to load Instagram's news feeds proved unsuccessful. ( ABC News )

Facebook's desktop site and app were both affected.

Facebook has not explained why there have been partial outages for users across the globe. ( ABC News )

It is now being reported that some WhatsApp users are also affected.

Some Facebook users saw a message that said the website was down for "required maintenance".

In a tweet, Facebook confirmed the platform had not been affected by a denial of service attack — where hackers flood a website with hits to deny other users access.

Users of the platforms took to Twitter to poke fun at the outage.

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Facebook did not say what was causing the outages, which are still occurring, or which regions were affected.

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"Millions will never be the same again, families shattered, lives lost, chaos. I wonder if the World will ever recover from this tragic day!", read one comment on downdetector.

The ABC has approached Facebook for comment.

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ABC/AP