Halloween is haunting the tech world, as an Instagram bug is preventing some users from logging into their accounts while others have reported a spookily sudden drop in their follower count. Downdetector, a website that reports service outages from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms shows a spike in reports of Instagram issues around 9 AM Eastern time, but it doesn’t seem to be a blanket outage as many other users (this writer included) have had no trouble accessing the platform today. For their part, Instagram has announced that they’re aware of the issues and are looking into them, but at the time of writing, they have yet to discover or announce a root cause.
We’re aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We’re looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience. #instagramdown
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 31, 2022
Engadget notes that this outage is far from Instagram’s first in the last year. Last October, Instagram’s parent company Meta faced widespread outages after a bug wreaked havoc on their backbone systems. Instagram also faced an “instant crash” bug in September, while earlier this month another bug prevented iOS users from using the platform.
Stay tuned to Instagram’s social media channels for news on a fix as it’s made available.
If you’re looking for some more positive Halloween news, check out an amazing picture of the sun “smiling” that was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
wazup.