Noticed a drop in your followers (read: popularity) on Instagram and likes on Twitter? You’re not alone.
Users across the globe began noticing the drop yesterday, with many reporting they noticed their Instagram follower count decreased “within seconds”.
While for some the drop was barely noticeable, for others the loss was significant, with at least one user reporting a loss of almost 500K followers overnight.
It is unclear how many users have been affected at this stage.
Some social media users believed Instagram was conducting another round of purging bots and fake accounts.
However, Instagram confirmed in a tweet the issue was caused by a bug.
They said: “We’re aware of an issue that is causing a change in account follower numbers for some people right now. We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible”.
We’re aware of an issue that is causing a change in account follower numbers for some people right now. We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.
— Instagram (@instagram) February 13, 2019
On the other hand, Twitters users were experiencing an issue that caused the number of likes on their tweets to fluctuate.
Twitter Support confirmed the bug, tweeting: “Some people around the world are experiencing an issue with notifications, likes and retweets. We’re working on resolving this and will follow up soon. We apologize for the inconvenience”.
Some people around the world are experiencing an issue with notifications, Likes, and Retweets. We’re working on resolving this and will follow up soon. We apologize for the inconvenience.
— Support (@Support) February 12, 2019
At the time of publishing, there have been some reports suggesting follower numbers and tweet likes have now returned to normal.
