Instagram Bug Floods Users With Notifications From Unfollowed Accounts

Instagram users worldwide experienced an unexpected flood of story notifications today, with alerts coming from accounts they don’t follow. Starting around 6:40 AM EST on December 18, 2025, users began reporting that the notifications—labeled as ‘TIME SENSITIVE’ on iOS—bypassed Focus modes and Do Not Disturb settings. Attempts to disable notifications or reinstall the app proved ineffective, and users were left with no way to stop the constant flood of alerts. Meta’s status page still listed ‘No Known Issues,’ despite widespread user reports. This issue is seen as more than a glitch; it compromises user privacy by surfacing activity from individuals that users intentionally chose not to follow. The bug also raises concerns about notification misclassification, as Instagram appears to be using the ‘TIME SENSITIVE’ label for content that doesn’t meet Apple’s guidelines for such alerts. This notification overload not only disrupts users’ experiences but also exposes Instagram’s infrastructure issues, potentially affecting millions of users globally.