Instagram is not working properly for a large number of users across the world, with vast numbers of people informed that their accounts have been locked.

Users saw a message indicating their accounts have been suspended.

However, rather than a mass banning of accounts, the issue appears to be a technical problem.

This has left users confused as the app suggested they had broken its rules and would be no longer able to access their accounts.

Others who were still able to access their accounts discovered that their followers had dropped significantly, likely due to many accounts being suspended.

Instagram said in a tweet that it was aware of the problems.

We're aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We're looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience. #instagramdown

— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 31, 2022

It did not comment on whether the downtime is the result of a bug.

It also did not give any indication of when the problem might be resolved.

“We’re aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account,” the official account wrote.

“We’re looking into it and apologise for the inconvenience.”

WhatsApp, owned by Meta -- formerly known as Facebook -- was hit by its own significant technical problems just a week ago.

Top photo via Unsplash