Instagram 'resolves bug' causing suspended accounts and lost followers

The social media platform was down for users around the world on Monday

Instagram resolved the issue that left a seemingly large number of users locked out of their accounts October 31, 2022. AP Photo

Instagram has fixed the issue that caused the app to crash, suspend accounts and drop followers for users across the world.

The social media platform's communication team announced on Tuesday that it has "resolved this bug".

"It was causing people in different parts of the world to have issues accessing their accounts and caused a temporary change for some in number of followers," the team wrote on Twitter. "Sorry!"

On Monday, the company issued a statement on Twitter following reports that the app was experiencing a glitch that has left users unable to gain access to their accounts.

“We're aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We're looking into it and apologise for the inconvenience. #instagramdown,” the company said in its tweet.

Website Downdetector, which tracks issues with social media sites, said the problems started shortly after 4pm UAE time, with a huge spike at about 5pm.

The issues affected users around the globe and Downdetector showed a high number of complaints from users in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“Did anyone else's Instagram just get suspended for no reason? And now Instagram won't even bother to let you appeal it just gives you an error?” one user wrote.

“My Instagram account has just lost 1,000 followers in one go. Is this happening to anyone else #instagramdown,” another user complained.

Other users reported a surge in “bot accounts” following them and finding that names of their group chats have disappeared.

The hashtag #Instagramdown was trending on Twitter.

Some users were still complaining of having issues even after Instagram had said it fixed the problem, however, with people sharing their frustration on Twitter and saying they were not receiving a text code they needed to log back in.

On Tuesday morning, Downdetector was still saying user reports indicate possible problems with the social media app.

The issues come a week after fellow Meta-owned platform WhatsApp faced issues, with users unable to send and receive messages for more than two hours on Tuesday.

The issue affected users around the globe, with more than 10,000 people in the UAE reporting problems.