Instagram keeps crashing: why it happens and how to fix it

If Instagram keeps crashing, close the app fully, restart your phone, then update Instagram. Those are the first steps that Instagram, Apple and Google all list for an app that keeps closing (Instagram Help, Apple Support, Android Help).

If that does not work, there is a clear order for what to try next. It ends with deleting and reinstalling the app, and there is one thing to save before you do that. This guide gives the full order, the exact taps for iPhone and for Android, and how to tell when the problem is not your phone at all.

It also answers the worry behind the search. A crash does not remove your followers, your likes or your posts.

Why does Instagram keep crashing?

There are only a few real causes, and the official help pages point at each one.

• An old app version. Instagram Help says that as of May 2022, some older versions of the app are no longer supported. An app that is too old can stop working.
• Old phone software. Instagram Help asks you to run the latest version of the app and the latest version of your phone’s operating system.
• A stuck app. Apple Support lists force closing as step one for an app that “closes unexpectedly”. A stuck app needs a clean start.
• A weak connection. Instagram Help tells you to try both Wi-Fi and mobile data, to see if a weak connection is the problem.
• A full phone. Android Help says clearing space can help your phone run better.
• A bug or an outage. Instagram Help says that if the steps do not help, “it could be a bug or broken feature”. That one is on Instagram’s side, not yours.

Use this table to match what you see to the fix that fits.

What happens	What it points to	Try this first
It crashes for you and for friends at the same time	An outage on Instagram’s side	Wait. No phone fix helps
Instagram is crashing when you open it	A stuck app or an old version	Force close, restart, update
It crashes on Wi-Fi but not on mobile data, or the other way round	A weak connection	Switch networks
It started right after an app update	A bug in that version	Report it and use Instagram.com for now
It crashes when you try to post a Story or a Reel	Low space, or a bug in that feature	Free up space, then report it
It keeps crashing even after reinstalling	Old phone software, or a bug	Update the phone, then report it

What to try first, in order

Work from the top. Each step takes longer or costs more than the one before it, so stop as soon as the app stays open.

1. Check if Instagram is down. It is quick, and it can save you a lot of wasted effort.
2. Close the app fully, then reopen it.
3. Restart your phone. Instagram Help says to “always try restarting your phone or tablet first”.
4. Try Instagram on Wi-Fi, then on mobile data.
5. Update Instagram, then update your phone’s software.
6. Free up space. On Android, clear the Instagram cache too.
7. Delete and reinstall Instagram. Save your drafts first.
8. Still crashing? Report the problem and use Instagram.com for now.

We put closing the app before the restart because it takes five seconds. If you would rather follow Instagram’s page to the letter, restart first.

How to check if Instagram is down

Do this before you change a single setting. Did Instagram work fine yesterday, and you changed nothing since? Then suspect an outage or a bad update first. If Instagram is down for everyone, nothing on your phone is broken, and nothing on your phone will fix it.

1. Ask a friend on a different network if their Instagram opens.
2. Open Instagram.com in a browser. Instagram Help says you can always use the website from a mobile browser or a computer.
3. Search “Instagram down” on another social app, or look at a third-party outage tracker such as Downdetector. Those trackers collect problem reports from users.

Meta does have a status page, but its own title says it covers “Meta business products”. It is not a status page for the Instagram app. So the three checks above are the best you can do.

If the website fails too and your friends see the same thing, it is an outage. Waiting is the only fix. Do not delete the app during an outage, because you would lose your drafts for nothing.

Instagram keeps crashing on iPhone: the steps

These steps come from Apple Support. Its page covers an app that “stops responding, closes unexpectedly, or won’t open”. The reinstall step is from Instagram Help.

1. Close the app. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle. Swipe left or right to find Instagram. Swipe up on its preview. On an iPhone with a Home button, double-click the Home button first.
2. Restart the iPhone. Then open Instagram again.
3. Update Instagram. Open the App Store, tap your profile icon, then tap App Updates. If Instagram is on the list, update it.
4. Update iOS. Open Settings, tap General, then tap Software Update.
5. Check your space. Open Settings, tap General, then tap iPhone Storage. The top bar shows how full the phone is.
6. Delete and reinstall. From the Home screen, tap and hold the Instagram icon. Tap Remove App. Then install Instagram again from the App Store and log in.

iPhone has no Clear cache button for apps. Apple Support says the phone removes cached and temporary files by itself when it runs low on space. In iPhone Storage, an app gives you two choices. Offload keeps the app’s documents and data. Delete removes the app and its data. So on iPhone, a delete and reinstall is the way to give Instagram a clean start.

Instagram keeps crashing on Android: the steps

Android Help has a page for an app that is “crashing”, “won’t open” or “won’t respond”. It warns that settings can vary by phone, so your menu names may differ a little.

1. Force stop the app. Open Settings, tap Apps, tap Instagram, then tap Force stop.
2. Restart the phone. On most phones, hold the Power button for about 30 seconds, or until the phone restarts. You may need to tap Restart.
3. Update Instagram. Open the Google Play Store, tap the profile icon at the top right, then tap Manage apps & devices. Look under “Updates available”.
4. Update Android. Open Settings, tap System, then tap Software update. On some phones it sits under About phone.
5. Clear the cache. Go back to Settings, Apps, Instagram. Open the storage screen, which is called Storage & cache on many phones. Tap Clear cache.
6. Check your space. Open Settings and tap Storage.
7. Uninstall and reinstall. Open Settings, tap Apps, tap Instagram, then tap Uninstall. Install it again from the Google Play Store and log in.

Watch out: Clear cache and Clear storage sit side by side, and they are not the same. Android Help says Clear cache “deletes temporary data”. Clear storage “permanently deletes all app data”. Tap the first one. Treat the second one like an uninstall.

Android users have one more option. Instagram Help points to Instagram Lite, a version of Instagram for Android that uses less data. It can fill in while the main app misbehaves.

What you lose when you reinstall Instagram

People put off the reinstall because they fear losing the account. You will not. Deleting the app is not deleting the account. Instagram Help says it plainly: “Your photos and profile info will be saved by Instagram.” You log in again and it is all there.

Drafts are the exception. Instagram Help says drafts are saved onto your device, and “if you uninstall the app, your drafts will be lost”. That covers post drafts and Reel drafts. You also cannot open a draft from another device, even when you log in to the same account.

Save your drafts before you delete the app. If it stays open long enough, do one of these.

1. Share any draft you care about.
2. Or open the Reel draft and save the video to your camera roll. Instagram Help notes that music from the Instagram library is not saved with it.

Make sure you know your password before you remove the app. You will need it to log in again.

When Instagram keeps closing only when you post

Sometimes the app opens fine and then closes when you try to post a Story, a Reel or a video. Treat that as its own case.

First, check your space. Video takes a lot of room, and Android Help says clearing space can help your phone run better. Second, update the app, because bug fixes arrive through app updates. Third, log in at Instagram.com in a browser. If the website works, the problem is the app on your phone, not your account.

If the app stays open but the upload never finishes, that is a different problem with different fixes. Our guide on an Instagram Story not uploading covers it.

And if the app works but one action fails with a message, it is not a crash at all. “Try again later” means Instagram paused that action. See our guide on Instagram action blocked.

What a crash means for followers and reach

A crash happens on your phone. Your account does not live on your phone. Your posts and your profile sit on Instagram’s servers, which is why they survive a full delete and reinstall (Instagram Help). Your followers and likes are part of that same account. People who follow you cannot tell that your app closed.

So a crash does not remove followers, and it does not mark your account in any way. If your follower count looks lower after a bad day with the app, the two things are not linked. Our guide on why you are losing followers on Instagram lists the real causes. You can also check your public count without the app. Our Instagram follower counter runs in a browser and needs no login.

The one real cost is the post you could not share. A Reel that never went up gets no views. Once the app is stable, post it. If your views stay low for weeks after that, look at Account Status. Our Instagram shadowban guide shows where to find it.

Here is the honest part about what we sell. We sell Instagram followers, and 100 cost $3.95. Buying them will not fix a crashing app, because the crash is on your phone and followers are on your account. Bought followers cannot cause a crash either. We only use your public username, and nobody logs in to your account. And you do not need to buy anything to “make up” for a crash, because a crash takes nothing away.

Watch out: be careful with any app or site that offers to repair Instagram if you hand over your login. Instagram’s own fixes never ask you to give your password to someone else. Handing it over is how accounts get stolen.

How to report the crash to Instagram

Have you done every step, and it still crashes? Instagram Help says it could be a bug, and asks you to report it.

If the app stays open long enough, do this.

1. Tap Profile, or your profile picture, in the bottom right.
2. Tap Menu in the top right.
3. Below More info and support, tap Help.
4. Tap Report a Problem.
5. Go back to the screen with the problem and shake your phone, or tap Report problem without shaking.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

If the app will not open at all, report from a computer. Go to Instagram.com and click More in the bottom left. Click Report a problem. Explain what happened, then click Send report.

Instagram Help asks for detail. Say what phone you use, what you were doing when the app closed, and add a screenshot if you can.

Tip: while you wait for a fix, use Instagram.com. Instagram Help says you can always go there from a mobile browser or a computer, and it does not depend on the app.

A quick checklist

• Check for an outage first. Ask a friend and open Instagram.com.
• Close the app fully, then restart the phone.
• Try Wi-Fi, then mobile data.
• Update Instagram and your phone’s software.
• Free up space. On Android, tap Clear cache, never Clear storage.
• Save or share your drafts, then delete and reinstall.
• Still crashing? Report the problem and use the website until the next update.
• Do not worry about your followers. A crash on your phone cannot touch them.