Grammarly experiences widespread outage affecting users

Grammarly outage impacts millions of users: A widespread service interruption affected Grammarly, one of the most popular proofreading tools, leaving users unable to access its features for several hours.

• The outage began around 11:30 PM Eastern time, with user reports on Down Detector suddenly spiking from zero to approximately 150.
• Users attempting to use Grammarly were met with loading feedback and an error message stating, “Text checking is temporarily unavailable.”

Company response and communication: Grammarly acknowledged the issue promptly and provided regular updates through various channels to keep users informed.

• The company posted an initial statement on its status website at 11:27 PM Eastern, confirming service interruptions affecting login, document editing, and account settings access.
• Grammarly used its @GrammarlyHelp account on X (formerly Twitter) to spread awareness about the outage and direct users to their status page for updates.
• Throughout the incident, the company provided several updates on its investigation and efforts to resolve the issue.

Technical details and resolution: While specific technical details were not disclosed, Grammarly’s team worked diligently to identify and address the root cause of the outage.

• The company reported adding more resources to its system in an attempt to recover the service while continuing to investigate the underlying issue.
• After a couple of hours, Down Detector began showing a decrease in user reports, indicating a gradual improvement in service availability.
• Grammarly announced the implementation of a fix and began monitoring its effectiveness, with some affected services recovering shortly after.

Service restoration and aftermath: The outage was relatively short-lived, with full service resuming within hours of the initial reports.

• Grammarly officially declared “All Systems Operational” on its status page, signaling the end of the outage.
• Users across various platforms, including the Chrome extension, desktop app, and mobile keyboard, reported the return of normal functionality.

Broader implications: This incident highlights the increasing reliance on cloud-based writing tools and the potential impact of their unavailability.

• The swift user response and widespread reporting of the outage underscore Grammarly’s significant user base and its importance in daily writing tasks for many.
• While the company’s transparent communication during the outage was commendable, the incident serves as a reminder of the need for backup plans or alternative tools for critical writing tasks.
• As cloud-based services continue to dominate various aspects of productivity, incidents like these prompt discussions about resilience, redundancy, and the potential need for offline capabilities in essential tools.