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Here's Why Instagram Feeds Aren't Working Right Now

by Keiko Zoll

If you've been trying to use Instagram on Wednesday morning only to discover that your favorite photo sharing app is being a complete pain in the ass, you're not alone: Instagram users are reporting major issues with the app on social media. Why aren't Instagram feeds showing up? According to Instagram's Help Center, there are currently no known issues — but all across Twitter, Instagrammers are reporting a very different scenario. For example, some users can't see their friends' feeds, while others can't upload photos to Instagram at all.

It's not just Instagram, either — Facebook users are also reporting outages with all kinds of issues, from publishing to Facebook pages to login troubles. That Facebook would also be experiencing similar outage issues as Instagram makes sense, considering that Facebook owns Instagram. If you're a total tech nerd like me, you'll know that your Instagram images are actually hosted on Facebook servers, so when Facebook is rekt, you can bet Instagram will follow in a domino chain of social media frustration.

All of this is to confirm that no, you're not going crazy and, yes, both Instagram and Facebook are down. Neither company has yet released an official statement as to what exactly is going on and Romper was unable to get in touch with representatives from Facebook or Instagram because, well, their sites are down.

It's important to note that is appears not everyone has been affected by the Instagram and Facebook outage. Instagram outage maps show that users on the East and West Coast of the United States appear to be the most affected; ditto this same geographical range of outages for some Facebook users. Rejoice, people of Oklahoma! Your state looks largely in the clear from this social media clusterf*ck. Well, at least for now.

Since both social media platforms are down, what can Instagram and Facebook users do? Why, angrily post to Twitter in droves, of course!

That Facebook and Instagram are both experiencing major outages is not only a pain for the casual or even power user of both social media platforms — it's proving to be a major headache for brands and their social media departments, too. Usually it's the intrusion of Instagram or Facebook that kills some of your workplace productivity — but when your job uses either platform as a main part of its business strategy, these outages are the equivalent of a full on work stoppage.

Facebook has provided an email statement to Mashable saying only that the company is "aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook and Instagram" and its teams are "working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible."

As for an official reason or explanation regarding what's going on, neither Facebook nor Instagram appear to be giving out many details. Could it have been an errant character in a single line of code that brought the massive social network down, or is this Facebook and Instagram outage something more complex or sinister? Right now, without any official answers or explanations, this is all speculation. Still, there are definitely some on Twitter who are happy to don their tinfoil hats and take a deep dive into the conspiracy theory pool about why Facebook and Instagram are down.

So, what are Instagram- and Facebook-starved users to do? Some are choosing to hit "refresh" endlessly until their apps load — which, not to get all nerdy here, could actually exacerbate the problem by putting extra demand on their servers.

Meanwhile, thousands have taken to Twitter to lament and bemoan their social media deprivation or seek some kind of update as to what's going on with Facebook and Instagram. For any user experiencing outage issues with Facebook or Instagram, it seems that all anyone can do is to ride it out.

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