Instagram outage sparks chaos online as users hit ‘Sorry something went wrong’ error

Instagram experienced a wave of disruptions on Wednesday evening, leaving thousands of users unable to access the Meta-owned platform, particularly through its web version. Social media timelines quickly filled with complaints, screenshots and memes as users tried to figure out what had gone wrong.

Spike in outage reports

According to the outage-tracking website Downdetector, more than 10,000 users experienced issues with Instagram as of 8.30 pm ET. The data available on the website indicated that most users experienced the problem with Instagram’s website and not its mobile application. Although the number of complaints reduced later, many users continued to experience access problems at the time of writing.

Instagram and its parent company, Meta, have not made an official statement regarding the issue.

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Users flag errors on X

Some users took to X to report that Instagram’s website was either not accessible or displayed the message, “Sorry, something went wrong” repeatedly. One user said, “Commented under a meme and then got this after going to my messages. Instagram is down.”

Another user wrote, “Yes, please fix it as quickly as you can.@instagram web down?”

A third user commented, “Everyone on Instagram running to Twitter to check if it's down.”

A widely shared post joked that “everyone on Instagram” had rushed to X to check whether the platform was down, reflecting the scale of the disruption.

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Workaround shared by users

Amid the outage, a user on Reddit shared a possible workaround for Apple device users facing the persistent error message. The steps included reinstalling the Instagram app, logging in via the website using Safari’s private mode, refreshing the page a few times, and then opening the app through the website link. Some users claimed this helped restore access, though results appeared to vary.

Reports of suspensions and false flags

Alongside outage complaints, some users also reported that their accounts had been temporarily suspended or marked as violating guidelines without notice. Some posts on X reported that accounts had been removed several times despite the users not violating any rules. However, these claims cannot be verified. For now, users are left waiting for a response from Instagram as the platform settles.