Is your Instagram camera not working, not showing, or missing?
Are you trying to open the Instagram story camera but the option is not there?
The Instagram camera is one of the main features of the app.
You can use it to take a photo or a video and share it as a story.
However, many users reported that they are unable to open the camera.
This has been an ongoing issue on Instagram and it usually happens after an update.
In this guide, you’ll learn why is your Instagram camera or story camera not working, not showing, and how to fix it.
- Why is my Instagram camera not showing?
- Why is the Instagram story camera not working?
- How to fix Instagram camera not working
Why is my Instagram camera not showing?
Your Instagram camera is not showing because you didn’t enable camera access for Instagram.
In other cases, an Instagram update caused the camera to not show up because of a bug.
When you first open the Instagram camera, you’ll be prompted to allow camera access to it.
If you didn’t, you won’t be able to take a photo or video using the camera.
You can also check if Instagram is down on DownDetector or on Twitter.
Why is the Instagram story camera not working?
The Instagram story camera is not working because of a bug in the app.
Apparently, the Instagram story camera was missing after a June 2022 update.
When you try to add a story, it opens your photo library.
However, there is no option to open the story camera.
This is a bug that happened multiple times on Instagram before.
As a result, many users were confused as to where the camera went and how to access it.
Here’s a tweet by @yosoymichael, “Can you not take pictures on Instagram Story anymore? It’s only showing my camera roll for some reason”.
Unfortunately, @yosoymichael is not the only one facing the issue.
That said, there are a few workarounds to access the camera on Instagram.
How to fix Instagram camera not working
To fix Instagram camera not working, you need to swipe right on the homepage to access it.
Alternatively, you can create a new post and swipe left to “Story”.
Keep in mind that you need to enable camera access for Instagram to access the camera.
As of June 2022, the Instagram camera is missing because of a bug on the app—it’s not caused on your end.
The bug happened if you updated Instagram to the latest version.
Hence, you need to wait for another update that brings back the camera.
1. Swipe right on the homepage
A simple way to access the Instagram camera (if it’s not working or showing) is to swipe right on the homepage.
To do so, open Instagram and go to the homepage.
On the homepage, you need to tap on an empty part of your feed and drag the screen to the right.
By doing so, the Instagram camera will open.
2. Add a post and swipe to add a story
- Open Instagram and go to the homepage.
- Tap on the “+” icon.
- Tap on “Post”.
- Swipe left to “Story”.
After you’ve swiped left to “Story”, the Instagram camera will open.
You’ll now be able to take a photo or video and add it to your story.
3. Enable camera access for Instagram
- Go to your settings.
- Scroll down and tap on “Instagram”.
- Enable camera access.
After you’ve enabled camera access for Instagram, you need to force close the app.
To do this on an iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of your screen, navigate to Instagram, and swipe up.
Lastly, open Instagram and try accessing the camera.
4. Update Instagram
The final method is to update Instagram to the latest version.
Some updates contain bug fixes and performance improvements.
If an update contains bug fixes, you need to update the app.
By updating the app, bugs like the faulty Instagram camera might be fixed.
That said, some updates introduce new bugs to the app.
Hence, you need to observe if anyone is facing issues after they’ve updated the app.
To do this, you can visit Twitter, search for “Instagram down” and see if anyone tweeted about it.
Further reading
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