Instagram stopped working after the latest update

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LuftWafflePilot
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Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by LuftWafflePilot » 2022-09-27, 15:50

The damn site simply stopped showing any content after today's update.

I am still half dying from some viral infection and can barely think straight, so just this info with no technical stuff (which is probably not needed anyway).

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Moonchild
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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-09-27, 16:29

try adding a user-agent override for instagram.com faking Firefox 68
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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lucas_jooj
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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by lucas_jooj » 2022-09-27, 19:44

I hate to make "Works in my machine" posts but, well, it does work on my machine. And polyfill is not an issue.
The sign up/sign in screen is empty however; the fields to input the username, password, submit and create a new account are blank. You can bypass this by typing anything after www.instagram.com, for example, https://www.instagram.com/palemoon/ . There you can go to the Log-in/Sign-Up buttons on the top right where it will redirects to a working version of the signing screen
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LuftWafflePilot
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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by LuftWafflePilot » 2022-09-28, 06:09

That's weird, I can see the login form, but not the site content, lol.
The useragent helped though.
On that note, what is the correct syntax to write that? It looks like coding to me, and I don't understand any of it.

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lucas_jooj
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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by lucas_jooj » 2022-09-28, 19:55

The add-on Sasuga makes it easier to change user agents with a handy GUI https://addons.palemoon.org/addon/sasuga/

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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by Massacre » 2022-09-29, 19:46

Well, if you set user agent mode in Pale Moon settings to "Gecko compatibility" it starts working again. "Firefox compatibility" does not works (instagram shows "page not exists" message), maybe because version shown in useragent string does not support all features of actual FF version or something.

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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-09-29, 20:22

Massacre wrote:
2022-09-29, 19:46
Well, if you set user agent mode in Pale Moon settings to "Gecko compatibility" it starts working again. "Firefox compatibility" does not works (instagram shows "page not exists" message), maybe because version shown in useragent string does not support all features of actual FF version or something.
which is why I said:
Moonchild wrote:
2022-09-27, 16:29
try adding a user-agent override for instagram.com faking Firefox 68
the compatmode version for the useragent was changed to 102 (because websites were gatekeeping us based on "Firefox 68 is too old, go away!"

Ultimately all of this is the predictable fallout of faking feature detection by using the useragent string and one of the main reasons it's a really really bad idea.
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by andikay » 2022-10-25, 03:34

I held off updating from 31.2.0.1 to 31.3.0.1 because of this issue until now; today I tried installing the newest version and every Instagram page says "Sorry, this page isn't available.", no matter if it's a user profile page or the start page. As soon as I moved back to 31.2.0.1 everything worked again as it should. I tested it with a completely fresh install and fresh user profile as well, nothing changed. While Instagram is not the center of my web browsing habits it is a page I use on a quite regular basis and it not working from one version to the next without Insta actually changing anything (like it was the case with dict.leo.org) is not something I can accept.

I checked the user agent compatmode override like suggested here and as it turns out putting it to anything above 89 causes said behavior. In my opinion it was not necessary to move from 68 all the way to 102. I use the actual FF 88 for some other sites and everything works very well. So i would advise using general.useragent.compatMode.version = 89 to get "the best of both worlds" in that regard.

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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-10-25, 06:59

andikay wrote:
2022-10-25, 03:34
So i would advise using general.useragent.compatMode.version = 89 to get "the best of both worlds" in that regard.
It's a user-configurable preference for a reason. There is a wide range of "accepted/blocked" user agents out there, depending on where you go. The default value should just be considered that: a default out of the box that should work reasonably well.
As long as websites continue gatekeeping based on UA, this will remain a status quo. I'd actually prefer to present a native UA but that breaks many more sites who hard block if not "Chrome, Safari or Firefox"
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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andikay
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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by andikay » 2022-10-25, 21:09

Oh yeah I am fully aware of the fact that several websites don't work just because they are ignorant towards anything that is not Chrome/Edge/Safari/FF and I find it very sad. I would also assume that PM is probably used by a bigger percentage of advanced users that like to customize and fiddle around in about:config than the average joe who uses Chrome. However, since the UA compatibility override value 102, which is the default in PM 31.3.0.1, creates this issue on Instagram (and maybe other sites, although I am not aware of any at this point) I don't find it helpful to set 102 as the default for now.

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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-10-26, 08:19

Then set it to what works for you!
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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Re: Instagram stopped working after the latest update

Unread post by plunder » 2023-02-18, 18:14

andikay wrote:
2022-10-25, 03:34
So i would advise using general.useragent.compatMode.version = 89 to get "the best of both worlds" in that regard.
@andikay Thanks for this setting, i had the problem with Instagram too, now i can fully access the site and login again! :thumbup:

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