Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 28: Meta-owned social media platform Instagram experienced a short-lived service disruption early Sunday, affecting several users, primarily in the United States. The issue triggered a spike in complaints during the early morning hours.

Data from outage-monitoring website Downdetector showed that reports peaked around 4:10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, when more than 180 users reported problems accessing the photo and video-sharing platform.

Users reported difficulties logging into their accounts and loading content during the outage. Many turned to other social media platforms to share screenshots of the disruption, which showed blank screens accompanied by a circular refresh icon, with no error message displayed.

According to Downdetector’s breakdown, 45 per cent of users flagged issues related to the app’s functionality, while 41 per cent faced login-related problems. The remaining 14 per cent reported that their feeds or timelines were not loading properly.

The disruption appeared to have minimal impact in India. Downdetector data indicated that only around 10 users in the country reported issues, suggesting the outage was largely confined to select regions.

Meta has not yet released an official statement explaining the cause of the outage or confirming how long the issue lasted.

The incident sparked reactions across social media, with users questioning whether Instagram was down and sharing light-hearted comments amid the disruption.

This is not an isolated occurrence for Meta-owned platforms. Earlier this year, WhatsApp faced multiple outages that affected users worldwide, including in India. In one notable incident in September, thousands of users were unable to send messages or upload status updates, leading to widespread complaints online.