Instagram for iOS Updated to Fix the Bug with Repeating Stories

Recently you might experience a strange sort of déjà vu sponsored by Instagram. If not, the chance is gone. The strange bug that made you see the same story by your friends all over despite having seen them already was something unexpected. Now, Instagram addressed it and issued an update for iOS to fix it.

The bug itself was exclusive to Apple, which gave another type of déjà vu, reminding of the early days when Instagram was an exclusive app for iPhones. The story you have already seen would appear in your feed again, the circle surrounding it indicating that it’s still unseen, though you know it’s not the case. Instead of the newest stories that are supposed to appear first in the feed, users would see the same circle (pun intended) all over again. This experience isn’t what Stories is for; luckily, at least they didn’t stay after 24 hours when removed finally.

Yet another déjà vu related to this case was the phrase Instagram used to describe the update that fixed this: “Bug fixes and performance improvements”. Now it’s a common description of minor updates, but some of us still remember that this phrase was introduced exactly by Instagram in its early years or even months. Now it was the perfect time to reuse it.

After the update, the Stories section functions as usual. As you have seen a story by someone, you can revisit it manually from that person’s page, but it doesn’t appear in your feed as unseen. With the release of Instagram Version 239.1 for iOS, the week of nightmare for Stories fans is finally over, but this incident will long be remembered as a sort of digital “Groundhog Day”. If nothing more serious happens, of course (we truly hope not).

Have you encountered this bug personally? Did you update the app, and if so, did it help immediately? If you had seen it, tell us how it felt in the comments!