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A huge number of people seem to have withdrawn from Instagram and are unable to access the app. Many users reported that the app was telling them their account had been suspended on Monday, apparently for violating the site’s rules. However, the sheer number of people suspended and the seemingly innocent nature of the accounts affected suggest the problem could be a bug. Instagram did not immediately respond to questions from The Independent and has not addressed the issue on its public platforms. It comes days after another major outage in the Meta WhatsApp app. Show latest update 1667238190

What happens when the error occurs?

The account suspension error is different from other problems: it’s not just the issue of not being able to connect to the internet, and it’s probably more of a concern than that. Instead, those affected are told their account has been suspended for violating Instagram’s “community guidelines.” They are notified and told they can appeal the decision within a month – after which it will be permanently disabled. People who try to appeal are then logged out of their accounts and can’t log back in. This seems to confirm that the suspensions are a bug and not a regular bug, which suggests that there is hope that they will get their accounts back. However, Instagram has yet to provide many details about the issues, including when or how they will be fixed. (And it doesn’t have a customer service line to ask about such things.) Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 17:43 1667238019

Suspension is not the only issue

The strange suspension bug isn’t the only problem happening on Monday, according to some reports. Other users report that the app crashes and see other unusual behavior. But it is the suspension problem that remains the most important. Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 17:40 1667237953

How many people are affected by the suspensions?

It’s impossible to say how many people are affected by the problems – only Instagram knows for sure – but it seems significant. Some people are reporting seeing their followers increase by hundreds as a result of the deactivation, so it seems to be affecting a large number of users. Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 17:39 1667233068

Two hours pass as the Instagram problems continue

It’s been two hours since Instagram posted this tweet. (The issue had been around for quite some time before that.) However, there has been no update since then and users are still stuck and banned from their accounts. Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 16:17 1667231691

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Instagram’s lack of a customer service or support number causes problems

Instagram doesn’t really have any way to get in touch with their staff, which means that unlike more traditional companies, there’s no simple way to get help with a problem like this. The only real way is to contact them on other platforms like Twitter, but there is no guarantee that anything will come of it. The only official response from the company so far has been the tweet below – which suggests that Instagram is aware of the problem, but not when or how it might be fixed. Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 15:16 1667227629

Users fear they won’t be able to share Halloween costumes as it suspends their accounts

The mass ban and/or bug came at a big time for Instagram: just after the Hallowe’en weekend and with just hours before the big night. Therefore, many fear that they will not be able to share their suits if their accounts are not returned. Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 14:47 1667226885

Instagram says it’s “aware” of the problem — but not that it’s a bug

Instagram has finally addressed the issues with a tweet. However, it doesn’t provide information about whether the suspensions are a bug or whether the accounts will automatically be reinstated once the issue is resolved. Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 14:34 1667226616

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Instagram seems to be suspending accounts en masse

Andrew Griffin31 October 2022 14:29