As Instagram continues to face downtime across the globe, thousands of users are now taking it to social media to express their frustration via text posts, GIFs, memes, and videos. Thousands of users have reported issues loading feeds, refreshing content, connecting to servers, and especially sending or receiving direct messages (DMs), with people trying everything in their might to get their precious Insta feeds back online.
Reports of the outage began surfacing early in the day, with complaints spiking sharply around 8:45 AM IST. Web service outage tracking site Downdetector recorded over 12,000 user reports at peak times, with the majority (around 74%) tied to the Instagram app itself, followed by server connection glitches (18%) and feed/timeline failures (4%). Reports came from multiple regions, including India, the United States, and other countries, indicating a truly global disruption.
It wasn’t just Instagram that faced disruption. Some users mentioned knock-on effects with other Meta services like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads, especially around messaging features. Meta’s official status page showed no acknowledged issues for hours, leaving users to rely on third-party trackers and social media for confirmation.
Internet turns to X for confirmation and comedy
As is usually the case, frustrated Instagram users flocked to X (formerly Twitter) to vent, seek reassurance, and share hilarious reactions. The platform quickly filled up with memes, self-deprecating jokes, and relatable rants about intense dependency on social media.
Here are some of the funniest and most viral X posts capturing the mood.
No official word from Meta yet
As of the time of publishing this article, Meta had not issued a public statement explaining the cause or provided an ETA for resolution. Downdetector continues to show complaints still coming in, although the surge in reports seems to have gone down. While many have been unable to access Instagram, the rest of the user base has started to report a revival of service.
The outage comes on the heels of Meta acquiring Moltbook, which ironically is a social network for Agentic AI bots, allowing humans to oversee interactions only as spectators. A Meta representative had confirmed, stating, “The Moltbook team joining MSL opens up new ways for AI agents to work for people and businesses.”
Meta executive Vishal Shah also commented in an internal memo, stating, “The Moltbook team has given agents a way to verify their identity and connect with one another on their human’s behalf. This establishes a registry where agents are verified and tethered to human owners.”
While existing Moltbook users can continue accessing the platform for now, Meta’s involvement is expected to change how people get on board this new platform. It also remains to be seen how Meta’s social media users take advantage of this social network designed only for AI agents.