Downdetector tracks outages and service issues by collecting user reports in real time. If your favorite social network, game, bank, or internet provider seems to be having problems, you can check the site to see whether other people are reporting the same thing. Each service has a page with a graph showing report volume over the last 24 hours. A spike usually means something is actually broken, not just your connection.

The data comes from user submissions and social media mentions, so it's not an official status page. But it's often faster than waiting for a company to acknowledge an outage. You can also report a problem yourself, which contributes to the graph. There are apps for mobile, and the site covers services in many countries. When something feels broken, it's a quick way to find out if you're alone.