On May 21, Meta Platform Inc’s Instagram experienced a technical issue that resulted in disrupted services for thousands of users. However, the company has announced that the issue has been resolved, and Instagram is back up for most users. A spokesperson from Meta confirmed that they had promptly addressed the problem for everyone who was affected. The exact number of users impacted by the disruption was not disclosed by the company. According to outage tracking website Downdetector.com, there were over 100,000 incidents reported in the United States, 24,000 in Canada, and more than 56,000 in Britain.
During the outage on Sunday, more than 180,000 users reported issues with accessing Instagram, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com. The disruption began around 5:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), affecting a significant number of users. However, by 8:30 p.m. EST, the number of reported outages had decreased to just over 7,000. Downdetector gathers information about outages by compiling status reports from various sources, including user reports.
Following the outage, social media users took to Twitter, making phrases like “My Instagram,” “Y’all Instagram,” and “My IG” trending topics. The hashtag “#instagramdown” quickly became the dominant trend on Twitter. Downdetector.com, a website that monitors app outages, recorded a surge in user reports of Instagram outages starting at 3:09 pm PT, with reports steadily increasing thereafter.
During the outage, Twitter became flooded with pop culture memes related to the fear of missing out (FOMO) experienced by Instagram users.
It is worth noting that Instagram’s previous major outage occurred on September 22.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, recently unveiled their “Meta Verified” subscription service. This service allows paid users of Instagram and Facebook to obtain a blue check-mark verification badge by verifying their accounts with a government ID. The subscription also offers extra protection against impersonation and grants direct access to customer support. Meta chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new program, highlighting its focus on increasing authenticity and security across their services. The Meta Verified service is priced at $11.99/month on the web and $14.99/month on iOS. The rollout of Meta Verified began in Australia and New Zealand, with plans for expansion to more countries in the near future.
