Instagram permanently deletes some user stories due to technical glitch
What's the story
Instagram, the widely used photo-sharing platform owned by Meta, has permanently erased a number of users' Stories from its archives due to a technical glitch.
The company informed affected users about this issue through an in-app notification on Wednesday.
The message read: "Due to a technical issue, this story is no longer available. While we've since fixed this issue, your story can't be restored."
Impact
The bug specifically affected Story Archives and Story Highlights
Instagram Stories is a distinctive feature of the app, allowing users to share photos, videos, or text posts that vanish after 24 hours.
These stories can be customized with music, gifs, text, filters, and interactive features like polls and more.
The bug specifically affected the Story Archives and Story Highlights sections of the app, where previous stories are stored.
Company statement
Meta's response to the technical glitch
Meta has not disclosed the exact number of users impacted by this glitch. However, it confirmed that only those who lost their Stories received the notification.
A spokesperson from Meta stated on Wednesday, "We found and fixed a bug that caused some people's Story highlights and archives to be deleted."
The spokesperson further added, "Unfortunately, we are unable to restore these Stories and we're letting people know in the app if they're impacted."
Saving mechanism
Instagram's story saving process and user impact
Instagram does not automatically save stories to users' camera rolls unless this setting is activated. Instead, they are auto-uploaded to the Story Archives.
Many users treat their Story Archives as a photo diary, storing everything from memes and screenshots of Spotify songs to vacation photos.
This incident underscores the importance of users backing up their photos, videos, and other media outside of an app for safekeeping.