INSTAGRAM users were unable to access the social media platform due to an apparent technical fault.

Both the website and the app were failing to load, with users around the world hit by the outage on Wednesday morning.

The website displayed the error message "5xx Server Error" and the app failed to load photos or profiles of users.

Some Instagram users posted on other social media platforms to find out if others had been affected by the fault.

On Monday the co-founders of Instagram Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced they will leave the company.

Around 10.15am it appeared that the app was back up and working.