Especially for business profiles, where people use Instagram Shopping, getting hacked can be a huge problem with dire consequences. For that reason, today we will talk about ways to avoid having your Instagram account hacked, how to find out if it is compromised, and what to do in this situation. Let’s get to it! Tip: After finding out if someone’s gotten into your Instagram account, how about finding out how to use more than one link to your biography? Check it out by following this link and getting to know AppTuts.bio right now!
How to find out if your Instagram account was hacked
Well, every time we talk about this sort of thing it’s common to start wondering “Was I hacked?”. After all, it might not be that obvious in your case, since a hacker can just be gathering data about your account, such as comments, sent and received messages, and more, never taking any direct action. However, there’s no need to fret: it’s likely you didn’t get hacked and, even if you did, it’s easy to find out. First, there are four telltale signs that your Instagram got hacked:
There are new posts on your profile that you didn’t make; Your profile has followed new users without you doing it; You can’t access your account, even though you’re sure your login and password are correct; You’ve received an email from Instagram talking about password changes or other settings you didn’t do.
If any of these four scenarios are familiar, it’s quite likely you actually got hacked. However, in the first two of these things, it’s also a possibility you forgot your account logged in on a public computer or on a friend’s smartphone, for instance. As such, before jumping to any conclusions, check where your Instagram account is logged in.
How to know where your profile is connected
Keep in mind that this guide is made using Instagram’s web version, which you can access on any of the best web browsers. To find out in which devices your Instagram profile is logged in, it’s really easy, and it can really help to identify if your Instagram got hacked. These are the steps: Step 1: First, log in to your account and click the profile icon ; Step 2: Next up, click Edit Profile. The two steps are shown in the image below;
Step 3: In this screen, go to the option Login Activity; Step 4: Here, you can identify all your recent logins and check which devices are logged into your Instagram account, as well as their locations, in the area Where you’re logged in, also shown in the image.
Step 5: If you identify an unallowed access in the list Where you’re logged in, just click it and then on Log Out! This way, it’s really easy to check if only you have accessed your account, or if there are logins in other cities and countries. If you see something like this, it’s a clear sign you had your Instagram account hacked.
What to do if you got hacked?
If you actually got hacked, this doesn’t mean you’ve lost your account permanently. Depending on whether you still have access to your account or not, there are two ways to deal with the situation. In any case, you should act quickly.
If you have access
First of all, if you can log in to your account as usual, but you’ve noticed an unallowed access, you can easily change your Instagram password. To do so, follow this link to change directly, or this link to receive an email with a new password. After doing that, don’t forget to also enable two-factor authentication. This way, every time you need to log in, you’ll need to type your password and confirm it with a code received via SMS.
If you don’t have access
If you just can’t log in to your account and you can’t get access back, it’s necessary to follow some different steps. Here, you need to go to this webpage and follow the steps to report the account to the platform. This way, even if you had your Instagram account hacked, the support team will help you in dealing with the situation. However, it’s important we mention that this process might take a while since you need to confirm your identity by sending a picture holding a paper with the code Instagram will send you. Even though, after you verify this validation, you should be able to get back into your account and, now, remember to change the password and enable the two-factor authentication, as we mentioned above.
How to ensure your Instagram account won’t get hacked
Now, if you haven’t been hacked yet, know there are several ways to prevent it. The first of which is to enable two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security to your account. However, that’s not all. Here are some extra tips! Done, taking all of that into account, it’ll be extremely hard for you to have your Instagram account hacked!
Did you like our tips on how to protect yourself and not have your Instagram account hacked?
Let us know in the comments if we helped you out in retrieving your account or protecting it, and don’t forget to also check out what to do when Instagram is down, learn how to recover deleted Instagram messages, and check our guide on how to get more Instagram followers!
