Instagram Your Account Has Been — Temporarily Locked

She still uses Instagram. But every time she sees the loading spinner, she feels a flicker of vertigo. The lock is gone. But the cage left a scar.

Instagram asked to send a security code to her phone. She waited. One minute. Five. Ten. She restarted her phone. She checked her blocked numbers. Nothing. She tried “Send via SMS again.” Silence. Her cell service was fine—her mother had texted her a cat video an hour ago. The void on her screen felt personal. Rejection by algorithm. instagram your account has been temporarily locked

She downloaded every single photo. All 1,827. She backed them up to two hard drives and a cloud service that wasn't beholden to any social network. She still uses Instagram