Justin Bieber apparently deletes Instagram account after warning fans over negative Sofia Richie comments

The "Sorry" singer's Instagram account was unavilable on Tuesday

Justin Bieber ( Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Justin Bieber has proved himself to be someone who does not make empty threats after apparently deleting his Instagram account, to the great umbrage of his 79 million followers.

The comment sections of Instagram posts are increasingly becoming vitriolic spaces for backlash to brew, leading some of the most high-profile people to pull their images. The actress Chloe Grace Moretz recently deleted an innocuous picture of herself lying down on a beach where her bikini tie was not visible after accusations of hypocrisy, snake emojis and repeats of her tweet about Kim Kardashian’s nude selfie flooded her page.

It's little wonder a growing number are passing over control of their accounts to teams and feeds are becoming increasingly commercial, robotic and decreasingly personal.

After warning fans meet and greets were off the menu because they left him" drained and unhappy" in March and then declaring himself "done taking pictures" with fans in order to preserve his sanity in May, Bieber's Instagram account was made unavailable on Tuesday.

Beliebers awoke to find themselves locked out of their idol's posts after the "Sorry" singer criticised some leaving negative comments on his pictures with Sofia Richie, the daughter of Lionel Richie.

“I'm gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don't stop the hate this is getting out of hand,” he warned underneath his most recent picture of the pair together.

“If you guys are really fans you wouldn't be so mean to people that I like.”

His warning saw the #ripbeliebers hashtag trending all day and threats from some quarters of his fandom apparently alienated by his post that they would unfollow the 22-year-old.

Hours later, his account was gone, at least temporarily, amid a very public spat between Selena Gomez and Bieber, one which also took place on Instagram.

“If you can't handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol - it should be special between you two only,” the singer, who is also Bieber's former girlfriend, had commented under one of his pictures. "Don't be mad at your fans. They love you and supported you before anyone ever did.

Her comments were followed by various pictures of Gomez with her fans under captions such as “my world”.

But Gomez appeared contrite on Tuesday, writing on SnapChat: “What I said was selfish and pointless.”