Instagram rendered inoperable on multiple iPhone models; latest v255.0 update likely to blame

Multiple iPhone users (mostly on iOS 16 or later) have taken to Twitter and other social media platforms to complain about the Instagram app not working outright. The problem seems to have been around for at least a day, and it manifested itself on my iPhone 13 running iOS 16.0.2 about 12 hours ago. Essentially, the Instagram app would crash immediately after it was launched. Usual troubleshooting steps, such as restarting the phone do nothing.

A cursory Twitter search reveals swathes of people are complaining about the same issue on Twitter. The issue's root cause seems to be the v255.0 update for Instagram that was rolled out about a day ago. Interestingly enough, people on iOS 15 can run the app fine, based on my anecdotal observation. Upon further digging, I discovered that keeping the app in Recents menu seems to fix the issue. However, closing it results in the app being inoperable again.

Hence, the only discernable workaround for the Instagram crash on iOS 16 is to uninstall and reinstall the app, run it once and leave it running in the background. The Instagram app icon on the home page also shows that there is an in-app notification, despite one not being there. Given the volume of people affected by the issue, it shouldn't be long before Meta issues an official fix.

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