How to keep your instagram account safe


Keeping Instagram Safe and Secure

July 13, 2021

Today, we’re launching Security Checkup, a new feature to help people keep their Instagram accounts secure. Security Checkup will guide people, whose accounts may have been hacked, through the steps needed to secure them. This includes checking login activity, reviewing profile information, confirming the accounts that share login information and updating account recovery contact information such as phone number or email.

Security Checkup is another way that we are working to keep Instagram accounts as secure as we can. But there are several other steps that we recommend everyone also take to make their account even more secure:

  • Enable two-factor authentication – We strongly recommend enabling two-factor authentication. If you’re using WhatsApp, in the coming weeks you will be able to protect your account using your WhatsApp number in certain countries. Alternatively, you can enable two-factor using your phone number, or an authenticator app like Duo Mobile or Google Authentication. For more info visit our Help Center here.

  • Update your phone number and email – Make sure that the email and phone numbers associated with your device are up to date. That way if something happens to your account, we can reach you. These steps let you recover your account even if your info has been changed by a hacker. For more info visit our Help Center here.

  • Instagram will never send you a DM – Over the past few months, we’ve seen a rise in malicious accounts DMing people to try and access sensitive information like account passwords. They may tell you that your account is at risk of being banned, that you are violating our policies around intellectual property, or that your photos are being shared elsewhere. These messages are often scams and violate our policies. Instagram will never send you a DM. When we discover these kinds of scams, we take action against them. But we also encourage you to report the content and block the account. We’ve sent notices at the top of people’s Inbox to warn them about these messages over the past 2 months. If Instagram ever wants to reach you about your account, we will do so via the ‘Emails from Instagram’ tab in your settings, which is the only place you will find direct and authentic communication from us on the app. For more info visit our Help Center here.

  • Report content and accounts you find questionable – While we are always improving our technology to combat new trends and techniques that hackers and spammy accounts may use, you can also report individual pieces of content to us by tapping the three dots above a post, holding on a message, or by visiting an account and reporting directly from the profile. For more info visit our Help Center here.

  • Enable Login Request – When you set up two-factor authentication on Instagram you’ll receive an alert whenever someone tries to log in to your account from a device or web browser we don't recognize. These alerts will tell you which device tried logging in and where it's located. You can approve or deny the request immediately from your already logged in devices. You can also view the list of devices that have recently logged into your Instagram account at any time under “Settings,” “Security,” “Login Activity.” If you don’t recognize a recent login, you can log out of that location or device and let us know that the login wasn’t you. For more info visit our Help Center here.

Accounts that impersonate others, use their verification status to hack and target people, or generally conduct spammy behavior with the hopes of misleading people on Instagram break our rules. We are constantly improving our technology to find and stop this behaviour.

We’ve also made significant updates to our Support Inbox, so you can find out the latest information about what’s happening with your reports, or find out if any of your posts are violating our policies. This includes being able to easily see the status of everything you’ve ever reported on Instagram, see what posts of yours may have broken our rules, and how to appeal those decisions. From there you can find much more information on the status of what you’ve reported to us.

We’re continuing to provide more features and tools to improve security on Instagram, please visit help.instagram.com for more resources.

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How to Stay Safe and Secure on Instagram

Instagram provides a seamless way to share filtered snapshots of life's highlights, but like anything on the internet, it has attracted its share of bad actors. Online harassers, hackers, and scammers run rampant, but don't let that scare you away from the Facebook-owned social network.

The social app has introduced a number of features intended to secure your account. There are settings you can manage to control your account's privacy and ensure no one breaks into your account. Here's how to make your Instagram account safer.

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Enable Two-Factor Authentication

If you're worried about someone hacking your account and posting on Instagram without your authorization, setting up two-factor authentication (2FA) is a must. By requiring a second form of authentication after you enter your password, a hacker can't access your account without physical access to your connected device, even if they have your password.

To set it up, navigate to your profile and tap the hamburger icon (). Select the Settings menu (top of the pop-up on iOS, bottom-right on Android) and tap Security > Two-Factor Authentication > Get Started. You can then choose to set up 2FA through text message or an independent authentication app, such as Google Authenticator.

If your phone is having connectivity issues and can't receive an SMS security code, that's where recovery codes come in. Go to Settings > Security > Two-Factor Authentication > Recovery Codes, and use the displayed code to log in.

Don't Get Phished

To help users differentiate between fake emails and official Instagram correspondence, Instagram is rolling out an "Emails from Instagram" tab, which "will allow anyone to check if an email claiming to be from Instagram is genuine," the company says.

The feature can be found via Settings > Security > Emails From Instagram. A "Security" tab will display a list of the emails Instagram sent you within the past 14 days regarding your account security and the locations from which you've logged in. A second tab, dubbed "other," will show you any remaining emails Instagram sent to you over the same period.

Check Login Activity

You can watch out for hackers by going to Settings > Login Activity on the desktop. This page will show you a list of locations where you have logged in with your account. You can verify your current location and look through previous activity. If there are locations you don't recognize, it's a good idea to log out from those devices and change your password.

Make Your Account Private

When you post to Instagram, anyone on the platform can see your pictures and videos by default. If you only wish to interact with people you actually know, set your account to private via Settings > Privacy > Account Privacy and toggle Private Account to on.

When your account is private, you'll have to approve new followers before they can see your photos or videos. Only approved followers will be able to find your posts through search, see which posts you've liked, and send you direct messages. With a private account, Google also won't index any of your photos to Google Images.

Block, Restrict, or Report Accounts

If someone is harassing you or posting inappropriate content, report them to Instagram. You can do this on the account's profile page, or directly through an individual post, comment, direct message, or story. Just tap the three-dot icon () on the top right of an Instagram post or bottom right of a story. To report a specific comment, long-press on it (Android) or swipe left (iOS) and tap the exclamation point icon.

You can fill out a form report(Opens in a new window) on Instagram's website as well. If Instagram finds that the account, comment, or video breaches its terms of service, the account in question will be suspended. By reporting an account, Instagram automatically blocks the user for you. However, you can also manually block the account by opening the three-dot menu on the account in question and selecting Block.

Instagram has also taken more targeted action to stop bullying on the platform. A new feature called Restrict(Opens in a new window) hides a particular user's comments and notifications if you want to stop seeing their posts and comments without unfollowing or reporting them.

To enable the feature, go to Settings > Privacy > Restricted Accounts and add accounts manually; or go to the user's profile, tap the three-dot icon on the top right and select Restrict. On iOS, you can also swipe left on a comment to restrict. Once Restrict is enabled, comments on your posts from restricted users will only be visible to that person. You can view the comment by tapping "See Comment," then choose to approve it, delete it, or ignore it. You won't receive any notifications for comments from a restricted account.

Mute Accounts

If you think restricting an account is overkill, you can mute a user. You will remain friends with them but stop seeing their updates in your feed. Instagram will not notify users that you've muted them.

Mute an account from your feed by tapping the three-dot menu () next to the name and choosing Mute. Or go to an account's profile, tap Following, and select Mute from the pop-up menu. You'll have the option to mute an account's posts, their stories, or both. To quickly mute just their stories, long-press the story icon at the top of your feed and select Mute from the menu. In Direct Messages, tap the information icon () on the top right, where you can opt to mute messages and/or video chats.

Go to Settings > Privacy > Muted Accounts to manage your mute list.

Remove Followers

If blocking, muting, or restricting a follower all fail, use the nuclear option: remove them. Go to your profile, tap Followers, and find who you want to remove. Tap the three-dot menu next to their name and tap Remove. This is a helpful feature for when you want to turn your account private and need to remove some followers.

Inspect Accounts

Wondering if an account is legit? Instagram now gives you the tools to help identify real accounts and scammers. Just navigate to their profile, tap the three-dot menu, and select About this Account.

Instagram will show you when the user joined the platform, what country the account is located in, any ads they are running, a history of username changes, and accounts with shared followers. If something seems amiss, you can block and/or report the account.

Manage Tagged Photos

Anyone can tag you in a photo, and these photos are viewable by tapping the photo icon on your profile. But you can remove yourself from these posts or adjust your settings to approve tagged images before they appear on your profile.

Go to Settings > Privacy > Tags and turn off the switch next to Add Automatically. To remove individual items, find an image, tap the three-dot menu, then tap Hide Options (Android) or Photo Options (iOS). Here, you can opt to remove a tag or hide that photo from your profile. You can also tap the tag in the image itself to remove it or hide the photo from your profile.

To manage multiple photos at once, go to Settings > Privacy > Tags > Hide Photos and Videos and select all the images you'd like to be removed from at once. Tap the eyeball icon (Android) or Hide (iOS) to remove them from your profile.

Secure Payment Options

Facebook is making a big push for e-commerce on Instagram, but before you click and buy that targeted item showing up in your ads, add a passcode to your credit card. Go to Settings > Payments > Security Pin and turn it on, which will add an extra layer of security in case you misplace your device.

Revoke Access to Third-Party Apps

Many third-party apps connect to Instagram to provide additional functionality across the web, but it's easy to lose track of how many apps you've connected to your account. Keep tabs on these connections via Settings > Security > Apps and Websites, where you can view active and expired authorized apps, then remove or grant access to the services you want. From the web, click the gear icon to access the settings menu and click Authorized Apps.

Top Instagram Tips for the Photo Obsessed

For more, these Instagram tips will have you snapping photos and video editing like a pro in no time.

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How to protect your Instagram account from hacking (9 simple rules) - Social networks on vc.

ru

Has anyone encountered the problem of account hacking? Unfortunately, in this case, it is difficult to return the account, and sometimes it is almost impossible. So how do you protect your account from being hacked?

59 250 views

Regulation 1

Link your account to your current mobile phone, email, personal Facebook account.

Regulation 2

Enable two-factor authentication. "Settings" → "Security" → "Two-factor authentication". After enabling this feature, you will receive codes via SMS or the app to confirm actions.

Enabling two-factor authentication on Instagram Yuliya Toloknova

Rule 3

Create a complex password using letters, numbers, and symbols.

Regulation 4

Prevent third party applications from accessing your account. "Settings" → "Security" → "Apps and sites". This tab will display a list of applications associated with the profile. Disable everything you don't need.

Installing a denial of access supporter applications to Instagram account Julia Toloknova

Regulation 5

Remove access from former employees, unlink them from your business profile. If the SMM manager worked only with Instagram under your credentials, it will be enough just to change the password. If he has access to the Instagram account through the associated Facebook page of the company, revoke it through the "Page Roles" tab. The tab is hidden very well, not everyone can find it the first time. Catch the fucking instructions.

Step 1. Log into Facebook and open your business page. Click "Settings".

Julia Toloknova

Step 2. In the "Settings" section, click on "Page Roles".

Step 3. Scroll down the page.

Julia Toloknova

Step 4. Examine the "Existing roles on the page" and keep only those that are needed.

Julia Toloknova

Step 5. Delete the selected person.

Julia Toloknova

Regulation 6

Periodically check your authorizations in Settings → Security → Account Logins. If you see incomprehensible locations in the list, change your password immediately - perhaps someone else is using your account.

Check authorization in your Instagram account Julia Toloknova

Rule 7

Hide your online status. "Settings" → "Privacy" → "Network status". The function works both ways - with a hidden network status, you will not be able to follow the online of other users.

Hide your online status on Instagram Julia Toloknova

Rule 8

Do not use Masfollowing, Massliking, Maslooking, etc. services in your promotion. These things don't work anymore!

Rule 9

Be vigilant! Don't follow unfamiliar links. Not in the mail, not in direct!

What problems did you face on Instagram?

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How to protect your Instagram account from hackers

Barely a decade ago, anyone would have imagined that the social feed photo app would reach such levels of popularity – today, many people pay more attention to their Instagram alter egos than to their own children. At the same time, the audience of the service has grown so much that some companies are ready to pay more for an advertising post in the Instagram feed than for TV commercials.

Apple in Telegram and YouTube. Subscribe!

♥ BY TOPIC: Invisibility on Instagram, or how to see when the user was online and how to turn it off.

Why Instagram is hacked

The huge popularity of the social network has increased the value of accounts many times over, which means that there are those who want to get these very accounts dishonestly. At the same time, passwords are stolen not only by owners of promoted profiles that can be used to earn money (spam mailings), but also by ordinary people who are hacked by automatic means (account data gets into the database of similar ones and is subsequently used or sold by attackers) or acquaintances from personal motives.

♥ BY TOPIC: Private profile on Instagram: what is it for and how to do it.

How Instagram account protection using two-factor verification works

Be that as it may, losing an account that has been invested a lot of effort and time in promoting is quite unpleasant, and protecting it is not so difficult. It is enough to activate two-factor authentication and link your own phone number to the profile, after which the fraudster will not be able to access the data, even if he has the correct password at his disposal.

♥ BY TOPIC: Who has the most followers on Instagram - the 40 most popular accounts.

How to set up two-factor authentication on Instagram

2. Go to menu Security .

3. Select Two-factor authentication from the list and click Start .

4. Turn on the SMS switch and add your phone number.

Note: Instagram recommends using an authentication app to protect your account. However, as practice shows, this method complicates the process of restoring access to an account and can greatly confuse the user.

5. After adding a phone number, click on the button Next and wait for an SMS with a confirmation code from Instagram, enter the received code in the appropriate field and click Next.

6. In order to access Instagram when you cannot receive SMS from Instagram (for example, in another country or if you lose your SIM card), go to section Backup codes in advance, copy and save your access codes.


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