Instagram alerts users when the service is down

test The Instagram platform is a new feature that alerts users when the service encounters significant technical difficulties. The alert appears as a notification in users’ activity feed when people are confused and are looking for answers, the platform says.

After the major crashes last week, the platform is moving to provide more insights into the ongoing turmoil and issues.

It’s also looking to add more transparency to account-based actions, such as Community Standards violations and content removals, right within the app.

The platform is testing a new type of alert that provides users with insight into ongoing technical issues, and how they relate to in-app functionality.

“We test new notifications when certain parts of Instagram are not working and notice that people have a lot of questions,” the platform said. We want to make it easy to understand what’s going on right from the source.

Most users now turn to Twitter to find out what happens when the Facebook-owned service stops. This method works well for some.

But ideally, the information now comes directly from the app, which adds more powers, as well as a specific connection to platform users.

This system relies on the platform’s ability to facilitate notifications, which it was not able to do last week when the app was down for 6 hours.

And if users can’t log into the app in the first place, these notifications won’t be of much help. But these types of large-scale outages are rare. It is often the individual elements of the application that encounter difficulties.

The new alerts are initially being tested with users in the US before the platform decides on next steps.

Read also: Instagram urges teens to take a break

Instagram helps you understand what’s happening to your account

Additionally, the platform has also launched Account Status, a new tool to provide insight into potential content violations, and other issues with your posts.

This procedure is designed to help users better understand any content or distribution effects, which would also mitigate rumors of a supposed “shadow ban” or other restrictions that could affect the performance of posts.

Users’ account status is flagged when they violate the platform’s rules. While you can also access the overview at any time via your settings.

From the overview page, you can also get more information about the platform’s rules and operations, as well as the appeal process, if you feel you have been unfairly punished.

The changes come as a result of frequent questions from platform users about why their accounts were penalized, and what they can do to resolve it. Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, runs a weekly question-and-answer session via Stories.

Every week, Mosseri faces inquiries about this. While every ad post across the platform is also inundated with inquiries about specific accounts and requests for help. This new feature adds more transparency, and helps users understand what’s going on.

Read also: Facebook services are back after a six-hour outage