Facebook and Instagram are down for many users [UPDATE]

These long hours stuck indoors as several states are pounded by snow are sure to be marked by excessive, boredom-induced phone checking and social network posting. Only, for many users, the social activities will exclude Facebook and Instagram, at least at the moment. Both sites appear to be down for many users in multiple regions, with those in the United States and India both reporting trouble accessing Facebook and just as many finding it impossible to access or share images on Instagram.

UPDATE: The problem has since been resolved for both Facebook and Instagram. While there is no official details from Facebook, Lizard Squad claims to attack and take down the social networks, including Tinder, AIM, Hipchat and Myspace.

UPDATE: Not so fast.

If you're a frequent user of either site, you likely noticed that you were unable to reach the service and were probably presented with an error message instead. Says Reuters, Facebook has said that it is aware of the situation and that it is "working on it", promising to get it back up and running ASAP. Further details on why it — and Instagram — are down aren't available.

Of course, Facebook and Instagram aren't the only two options out there, and if you absolutely must share your middle-of-the-night blizzard festivity pictures with the whole world, there's always Twitter, while WhatsApp makes a nice Messenger substitution.

As always, we'll keep you updated as more information on the issue arises.

SOURCE: Reuters, GigaOm