Some Instagram users reporting incomplete follow lists, invisible likes, and botched Reel sharing algorithm

It seems to be another one of those weeks for Instagram users. Many have taken to online forums, like Reddit, to voice their frustrations over a fresh batch of apparent glitches hitting the platform. While I couldn’t replicate these specific bugs on my own account, the chorus of complaints suggests a bumpy user experience for a not-insignificant number of people.

One of the most talked-about issues is the sudden inability to see complete “following” or “follower” lists. Users are reporting that when they check someone’s profile, or even their own, the app only displays a fraction of the actual accounts being followed or that are following.

Reddit user Vegetable_School2162 asked, “When I click on others following, it only shows a few accounts, as in not all the people that they’re following. Why is that?” Another user, CreedBratton8, shared a similar experience: “Since the update today, me and my friends can only see like 1/3 or 1/2 of the followers in each others’ following/followers lists.” Many are debating whether this is a deliberate, albeit unpopular, new feature or simply a bug. User xXcocomademoisellexX commented, “If this is indeed an update and not a glitch, that’s just complete trash.”

There are other threads about the issue that you can check out here, here, and here.

Adding to the list of woes are problems with viewing likes. Several users have noticed that the number of likes displayed on a post doesn’t match the actual list of people who liked it. For instance, a post might show 9 likes, but tapping to see who liked it reveals only a handful of names.

GrandKnew expressed their confusion: “Why can’t I see who liked my own posts? I see the number of like (let’s say it’s 9 people), but when I click on the actual likes I only see 4 names…?” This issue isn’t just confined to personal posts. User Typical_Wonder_8362 noted, “one of their posts that I liked will say it has 14 likes and when I click on the likes, I can only see two or three.”

The way Instagram suggests friends for sharing Reels also seems to be on the fritz for some. Users are finding that the list of people who pop up when trying to share a Reel is populated with accounts they barely interact with, or haven’t interacted with in ages. This forces them to manually search for the friends they actually want to send content to.

Big_Age_2226 posted, “whenever i try to send a reel to my friends the list that pops up when i press share is people i have no interaction with.” ThaRealSunGod echoed this sentiment strongly: “Literally seems random. Not a single one of the people or groups I’ve sent anything to in the last 3 months are on the new list.”

It’s unclear if and when Instagram will address either of these issues since there’s no official acknowledgment. Anyway, we’ll keep an eye out for any further developments and will update this article if there’s something to share. In the meantime, feel free to let us know which of these three issues (or all three) are you facing in the comments below.