For weeks, Instagram users sharing Reels via desktop links have encountered a frustrating technical failure. When attempting to open a Reel link like https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTAcc_gE7J7/ (tracking parameters removed) in a web browser after logging in, the experience often breaks catastrophically.

Instead of loading the intended video, the link frequently initiates a flawed redirect sequence:
1. Redirects to /reels/ (adding an 's' to the path).
2. Then exhibits one of two failure modes:
* Browser Lockup: Stalls on a blank white page while triggering abnormally high CPU usage, causing fans to spin aggressively.
* Incorrect Redirect: Abandons the requested Reel entirely and redirects the user to their general Reels timeline, displaying an unrelated video.

This malfunction doesn't affect every single Reel link but occurs frequently enough—reports suggest a "non-trivial number, if not most"—to be a significant user experience issue. The only known workaround involves manually editing the URL: changing /reel/{id}/ to /p/{id}/ forces the Reel to load in the standard post view. However, this compromises the viewing experience with a significantly smaller video player.

Despite user complaints surfacing on platforms like Twitter and Hacker News for weeks, Meta has yet to deploy a fix. The persistence of this bug raises questions about the robustness of Instagram's web infrastructure and its handling of link routing and redirects. For developers, it serves as a case study in how seemingly minor URL path discrepancies (/reel/ vs. /reels/) combined with backend routing logic failures can create widespread user-facing breakage and performance degradation. The prolonged lack of resolution also highlights challenges in prioritizing and addressing front-end web issues within large platform teams.

Source: User reports and discussion on Hacker News (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46475587).