Instragram has released an update that prevents users from tagging themselves in Singapore when they're not there in a bid to go viral.

The update to its algorithm comes after a swathe of users realised geo-tagging their posts with Singapore gave them an increased chance of being on the Explore page, which helps boost likes on a post and follower numbers.

Instagram has admitted that a bug in its algorithm "impacted engagement" when posts were tagged in Singapore, giving them a greater chance of being seen by more people.

Dozens of "influencers", people with large numbers of followers, began the trend on the photo sharing social network with posts appearing to be from "Singapore, Singapore" even when the user was far from the South East Asian country.