INSTAGRAM is failing to crack down on sexual and violent abusive messages to women, celebs claim.

Actress Amber Heard and Countdown star Rachel Riley are among high-profile women to highlight the app’s shortcomings on tackling trolls.

2 Hollywood star Amber, 35, told how she was targeted after she helped The Sun win a libel case by her ex-husband Johnny Depp Credit: Reuters

2 Rachel, 36, said: 'There is an epidemic of misogynist abuse taking place in women’s DMs' Credit: Rex

Hollywood star Amber, 35, told how she was targeted after she helped The Sun win a libel case brought by her ex-husband Johnny Depp who had complained about being called a “wife beater”.

She said the case, in which she outlined abuse at Depp’s hands, led to thousands of trolls sending messages.

She said: “I’ve survived an incredible amount and to come out of it and face the exact same patterns of abuse is ironic and hilarious on my best days — and depressing on my worst.”

She said the app’s abuse reporting function is “not user-friendly, not intuitive, not common sense- based”, adding: “From the outside, it’s looking like Instagram is doing nothing.”

She and Rachel are working with the Centre for Countering Digital Hate.

The campaign group said Instagram failed to act on nine in ten violent threats in DMs and failed to act on any image-based sexual abuse within 48 hours.

Rachel, 36, said: “There is an epidemic of misogynist abuse taking place in women’s DMs.”

Cindy Southworth, of Instagram owner Meta, said: “While we disagree with many of the CCDH’s conclusions, we do agree that the harassment of women is unacceptable.

'That’s why we don’t allow gender-based hate or any threat of sexual violence, and last year we announced stronger protections for female public figures.

'Messages from people you don’t follow go to a separate request inbox where you can either block or report the sender, or you can turn off message requests altogether.

'Calls from people you don’t know only go through if you accept their message request and we offer a way to filter abusive messages so you never have to see them.”