Britney Spears vanishes from Instagram and fans are worried

Britney Spears' Instagram page has been deactivated, much to the concern of her adoring fans. 

The US pop star left the social media platform on Wednesday, leaving her 39+ million followers without any explanation for the sudden departure. 

Britney's Twitter and Facebook, which she has previously used to reshare her Instagram posts, remain active but have not been updated since her Instagram deletion. 

The disappearance has prompted an outpouring of concern from her fans, with some even fearing that the 40-year-old has been forced to quit the app due to her most recent online activity. 

The Toxic singer was known for her frequent—and seemingly unfiltered—usage of Instagram, often treating her followers to multiple photos and videos a day. 

In one of her most recent updates, Britney revealed plans to have more babies with her fiancé, Sam Asghari. She also had a habit of uploading nude pictures, with many of her latest snaps taken sans-clothing at a tropical or luxurious location. On a recent trip to French Polynesia, Britney said she was 'free' and posted eight naked photos of her tanned 'bod' at the beach. 

The mom-of-two has also issued a string of provocative statements on Instagram, some of which have been aimed at her own family—whom she has accused of keeping her in a conservatorship for 13 years. 

"I was nothing more than a puppet to my family yet to the public I just performed on stage and did what I was told to do," she revealed on Instagram last week. "I was treated less than, demoralized and embarrassed … nobody should ever be treated the way I was." 

In the final post before her Instagram was deleted, she urged the public not to "ever pity" her. 

"I don’t want to be loved … I want to be feared!!! Being loved and being nice got me taken advantage of …… so take your pity and go f–k yourselves,” she wrote. 

According to TMZ, Instagram did not disable Britney's account, which means that she —or someone in her circle—is responsible for its disappearance. 

A source has told Us Weekly that the singer "chose" to disable her own Instagram, while another source told Entertainment Tonight that "she’d be taking a well-deserved break as many celebrities do, that's really it." 

Fans have been quick to comment on Britney's Instagram blackout, with many taking to Twitter to share their reactions.

This isn't the first time that the Grammy-winner has deleted her Instagram. Britney reassured fans that she was "taking a little break from social media" to celebrate her engagement in September, promising to "be back soon." She returned to the platform after just six days, admitting she just "couldn't stay away" from the addictive app.