It can be frustrating when the photos you’ve previously liked on Instagram seem to mysteriously disappear from your account.
Your liked photos feed serves as a collection of posts you’ve enjoyed and want to be able to reference later. So when this content goes missing, it disrupts being able to look back on it.
There are a few potential reasons this annoying issue occurs:
Why Have My Instagram Liked Photos Disappeared?
Before jumping into troubleshooting steps, it helps to understand what might cause liked photos to vanish in the first place. Here are some of the common culprits:
Internet Connectivity Issues
An unstable internet connection can wreak havoc on the Instagram app. If you lose connectivity when scrolling through your liked photo feed, it may cause images to disappear once connectivity is restored.
Similarly, a weak mobile data or Wi-Fi signal can impact the app’s ability to properly load and display content.
Temporary Instagram Server Problems
Instagram’s servers sometimes suffer temporary outages that disrupt normal functioning. Issues on Instagram’s end can result in glitches like liked photos not loading properly or seeming to disappear.
Outdated App Version
Using an outdated version of the Instagram app may result in bugs that affect the visibility of your liked photos. As the app is updated, older versions eventually lose compatibility.
Corrupted App Cache
The Instagram app stores some data temporarily in a cache on your device. Over time, this cached information can become corrupted. The corrupted data can impact the app’s performance, including causing your liked photos to not display correctly.
How to Fix Instagram Liked Photos Disappeared or Not Showing
If you’ve encountered the issue of your Instagram likes vanishing, don’t panic. Here are some troubleshooting steps to help restore them:
1. Check Your Internet Connection
The first step is verifying you have a stable internet connection. Unstable connectivity can directly impact Instagram’s functionality.
To test your connection strength:
- Connect your phone to a reliable Wi-Fi network if possible. Mobile data signals tend to be more temperamental.
- Open your device’s internet browser, type in “speed test” and run an internet speed test.
- Check that your download and upload speeds meet at least the minimum requirements:
- Download Speed: 5 Mbps
- Upload Speed: 2 Mbps
- If your connectivity tests low, try moving closer to your Wi-Fi router or toggle Airplane mode on/off to reset the connection.
Once you’ve confirmed your internet connectivity is strong, you can rule this out as the source of issues on Instagram.
2. Check for Instagram Server Issues
Even with a strong internet connection on your end, server outages on Instagram’s end can still cause functionality disruptions.
To check for any reported Instagram server issues:
- Go to Downdetector.com and search for the Instagram service status.
- Alternatively, search “Instagram Down” on Twitter to see if other users are experiencing widespread problems.
- If there are server disruptions confirmed, you’ll have to wait until Instagram resolves them on their end before your liked photos reappear.
3. Restart the Instagram App
Restarting the Instagram app often helps clear up temporary glitches:
On iPhone
- Double tap the Home button to bring up your recent apps.
- Locate Instagram in the list and swipe up on its preview to fully close it.
- Tap the Instagram icon to relaunch it.
On Android
- Open the Recent Apps menu.
- Locate Instagram and swipe left or right to dismiss it.
- Tap the Instagram icon to restart it.
Allow the app to fully load upon restart to see if it fixes the missing likes issue.
4. Update the Instagram App
Using an outdated version of the Instagram app can trigger bugs and display problems.
To update:
On iPhone
- Go into the App Store.
- Tap your profile icon in the upper right.
- Scroll down to see available Instagram updates and tap “Update” next to Instagram.
On Android
- Open the Play Store app.
- Tap the hamburger menu in the upper left.
- Tap “My Apps & Games”.
- Under “Updates Available”, check for Instagram and tap “Update”.
Updating provides compatibility improvements that may allow your liked photos to display properly again if it was an app version issue.
5. Log Out and Back Into Instagram
Resetting your connection with Instagram by logging out and back in can solve multiple minor issues:
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the upper right.
- Scroll down and select “Log Out”.
- Close and reopen Instagram.
- Enter your username and password to log back in.
This refreshes your account’s connectivity and resyncs the data, which may restore the visibility of previously liked photos.
6. Clear the Instagram Cache
Corrupted elements cached by the Instagram app can potentially disrupt its functionality. Clearing this data forces the app to rebuild its cache and eliminates problematic files:
On iPhone
- Open your iPhone Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Instagram.
- Tap Clear Cache.
On Android
- Open your Android device’s Settings.
- Tap Apps or Application Manager.
- Tap Instagram.
- Tap Storage or Storage & Cache.
- Tap Clear Cache or Clear Data.
Then reopen Instagram to let the cache rebuild itself minus any corruptions. Your liked photos tab may now populate correctly.
7. Search for Specific Missing Liked Photos
If some but not all of your Instagram likes are missing, try searching for the individual posts:
- Tap the Instagram search bar.
- Type relevant keywords from the missing posts’ captions or locations.
- You can also search the usernames of the accounts you know you liked posts from.
- See if manually searching surfaces the posts you can no longer see likes for.
While inconvenient, this method lets you rediscover posts you enjoyed liking despite them not showing in your general liked collection.
8. Review Recent Account Activity
Finally, examine your recent account activity for any signals something is amiss:
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- Tap the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Select Security > Login Activity.
Here you can see details on the most recent logins to your account. Check for any logins from unfamiliar locations, devices or IP addresses.
If your account was compromised, it could explain disappearing likes and requires you to change your password immediately.
9. Try Accessing Instagram from a Browser
If your likes are only missing from the mobile app, try accessing Instagram from a desktop web browser.
On your computer:
- Go to instagram.com and log into your account.
- Click on your profile image in the top right.
- Select “Saved” from the menu.
- Review if your liked photos are visible there.
If the images do appear properly on the web, the issue is isolated to just the mobile app.
10. Reinstall the Instagram App
A complete uninstall and reinstall of the app may jolt it back to properly displaying your likes:
- Ensure your account is logged in to prevent data loss.
- Fully delete and remove the Instagram app.
- Redownload a fresh version of the app from the app store.
- Log into your account during setup.
Hopefully, the reset app will now sync your likes correctly.
11. Double Check Date & Time Settings
If your device’s date and time settings are inaccurate, it can impact the functionality of social media apps that rely on timestamps:
- Go into your device’s Settings menu.
- Tap on Date & Time.
- Ensure Set Automatically is enabled to sync the accurate time.
- Alternatively, manually adjust the Date and Time if they are wrong.
With the right timezone and clock set, give Instagram another try.
12. Free Up Storage Space
A phone low on storage space can experience instability and freezing in resource-intensive apps like Instagram:
- Go to Settings > Storage on your device.
- Check for and remove any apps, videos, photos or music you no longer need.
- Try to increase the amount of free space available.
More available local storage can help Instagram run more smoothly.
13. Look For Conflicting Third-Party Apps
Some third party apps that interact with Instagram could potentially interfere with normal functionality:
- Make note if you have any optimizer, cleaner or security apps that claim to boost Instagram performance.
- Temporarily disable these types of utilities.
- Check if stopping them has a positive effect on Instagram’s stability.
If your likes return, you know a third party app was causing conflict.
14. Update Your Operating System
Keeping your device firmware up-to-date is important:
- Go to Settings > System > About phone.
- Check what version of Android or iOS your phone is presently running.
- See if any system updates are available and install them.
This maintenance helps ensure maximum compatibility with apps like Instagram.
15. Report to Instagram the Liked Photos Disappearing Issue
If you’ve tried all troubleshooting steps with no success restoring your liked photos visibility, reach out directly to Instagram support:
- Open Instagram and visit your profile page.
- Tap the menu icon and select Settings > Help > Contact Support.
- Select the issue type that best fits your disappeared likes problem.
- Fill in additional details about when the problem started happening and what steps you’ve tried already.
The final option is submitting a report to Instagram directly about the inconsistencies with your liked photos feed.
The Instagram team can then investigate further and hopefully get your account liking functionality back on track!
Liked photos mysteriously disappearing in Instagram can certainly be disruptive. But with a methodical troubleshooting approach and some patience, this issue can usually be corrected. Be sure to check for app version, account and server issues to get the problem squared away fast.
Stay persistent and utilize Instagram support channels if needed until your treasured feed of liked snapshots pops back into place again!
