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Bugging Out: Instagram Scare With Software Bug

Back in the old days, you only had three things to worry about on Instagram: your account being hacked, a new follower that turned out to be a spam-bot or your mates liking that one particularly horrific picture from half […]

Back in the old days, you only had three things to worry about on Instagram: your account being hacked, a new follower that turned out to be a spam-bot or your mates liking that one particularly horrific picture from half a year back. But now, thanks to a software bug, those among the social platform’s 700 million users have something else to worry about: the sudden disabling and deletion of their accounts.

I’m sorry, what? Source.

Earlier in July, a large portion of Instagram users logged into their accounts only to find the dreaded words: “Error: Your account has been disabled (…)” plastered across their screens. There was no explanation provided for their account’s deletion, only that it had been “for violating (Instagram’s) terms”. This happened to a great deal of Instagrammers, and it wasn’t long before the outrage began.

In true millennial fashion, those who had their accounts blocked took to social media (particularly Reddit and Twitter) to showcase their frustration and concerns over whether or not the platform was safe. A response from Instagram was delayed, but one was quickly delivered after a viral investigation from Buzzfeed:

“The bug logged some users out of their accounts, while also locking their accounts from view.” Buzzfeed reporter Alex Kantrowitz writes. “When BuzzFeed News checked multiple account pages that users claimed were deleted, we saw a message stating that the content was unavailable, noting that the link might be broken or the page could’ve been removed. When the bug is fixed and affected users are able to log back in, their accounts will be viewable again.”

Coverage on the blackout has been pretty quiet, so it should be safe to assume that it’s business (or selfies) as usual for Instagram. The social media company did tweet in response to the outcry:

“We’re aware of a bug that’s causing some users to be logged out of their accounts. We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

The tweet has since been taken down.

In the mean time, remain vigilant and careful with your account security for any potential threats that may come in the form of account hacks, and/or third party apps such as comment and like generators.

Be safe, guys!