No, your Instagram account wasn't hacked - it was only a bug

Instagram logged out some users and told them their passwords had been changed - fortunately, it was just a technical problem

To the relief of everyone, the bug was quickly fixed (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)

Instagram went a bit haywire yesterday, resulting in some users getting logged out and the app displaying incorrect error messages when they tried to log back in.

The bug turned out to be harmless and was fixed by Instagram, but at first glance, many users mistook the fault for hacking, with some claiming their accounts had been broken into and their password changed.

It's an easy mistake to make - when the app gives you an error message which says 'the account owner may have changed the password', it makes sense to assume that someone else has changed your password.

Fortunately, the whole thing was down to an error. No passwords were compromised, and the fault was corrected.

After the bug, Instagram quelled users' fears on Twitter, writing: "We experienced a bug that logged out some people and showed incorrect error messages."

"You will be able to log back in as normal, though it may take longer than usual. No passwords were changed as part of this issue."

It was worrying, but fortunately everyone's artfully-shot selfies and pictures of pumpkin spice lattes are safe.