A NEW bug in Instagram Stories is irritating users who are threatening to delete the app.
If you’re an avid Instagram user, then you might have noticed a new bug on Stories that prevents you from muting the sound.
The glitch follows a series of changes to the Instagram platform, such as larger posts and recommendations from people you don’t follow.
The problems are said to have started on Wednesday 7 September and continue until Thursday 8 September.
Thousands of users say they can’t mute their stories on social media.
“I’m deleting Instagram Stories that autoplay with sound even when I don’t have the sound on. This is the last straw,” wrote one outraged user on Twitter.
“My whole phone is on silent but when I play my Instagram stories the sound is on… how can I stop this?!!!!” another user asked.
“Why is @instagram a hot mess all the time!!! Now the sound is like always playing on Instagram stories?!? I HATE IT,” commented a third person.
Usually, if you want to mute the sound in a story on iPhone, all you have to do is toggle the mute switch on the left side of the device.
However, the Instagram platform appears to be suppressing the mute feature of iPhones.
Users are also reporting a similar problem with reels on their home screen.
Being a huge social media platform with over a billion users worldwide, Instagram is naturally prone to glitches from time to time.
Typically, flaws are resolved by Meta, Instagram’s parent company, within hours.
However, in the event that this is not the case, there are a few things you can try to target the problem.
How to fix the error
First, you can simply click on the sound icon in the app itself to mute the reel.
You can also mute the sound on your device if you’re browsing stories.
Apart from these methods, it is not possible to take advantage of many more users until Instagram fixes the bug.
Why doesn’t Instagram mute?
Normally, when you use Instagram on a mobile device, you can mute the sound in the app either by clicking on the sound icon in the app itself, or by turning off the sound on your device. To mute your iPhone, toggle the switch on the side of your phone. Once you toggle this switch, Instagram should notify you that you’re in “silent mode,” meaning you can follow Stories at work or elsewhere without disturbing those around you.
Recently, however, many users have noticed that Instagram is suppressing this feature and basically refusing to go into silent mode. As a result, the sound in Stories remains on, and users have started playing them in situations where it can be uncomfortable.
“This new Instagram update is actually going to override silent mode to play sound on people’s stories and that’s actually going to be the thing that makes me lose my mind,” one user wrote.
It’s not yet clear if this is a bug or something Instagram pushed out on purpose, but one thing is for sure: Users are not happy about the move.
“Why do Instagram stories automatically play sound? Please no. I want to watch videos in silence,” another person added.
“Can someone explain why it looks like you can’t mute Instagram stories now? What am I doing wrong?” wrote a third.
Is there a way to mute Instagram Stories?
Normally, turning off the sound in Stories is pretty simple, but for those who have this problem, it can be almost impossible. You can try uninstalling and reinstalling the app or logging out and logging back in, but most likely this glitch is something that Instagram’s engineering team will have to fix. It’s highly unlikely that Meta would ever introduce this kind of feature on purpose, so it’s more likely a bug.