It’s a sad fact that most people will only start caring about their Instagram security once the account has been hacked.
How do I even know if my Instagram account was hacked?
There are a couple of dead giveaways once someone who shouldn’t have all of a sudden has access to your account.
- You all of a sudden follow a lot of people you don’t know and also like their images.
- There are images on your account which you KNOW are not yours
- You don’t have access to your account anymore and you are 100% sure that you’re using the right password and it’s not a technical glitch.
What to do when my Instagram account was hacked?
No worries – it’s not the end of the world (even though losing your account, even if only temporary, is not a great feeling).
- If you still have access to your account, make sure to change your password immediately. Change the password of all other accounts you use this password with, too. Heck, even better: Just change all of your passwords. 😉
- If you don’t have access to your account anymore you should contact Instagram as fast as you can and start their procedure for hacked accounts.
What can I do to make sure my account is safe so I don’t get hacked?
I’ll make it quick, because we’ve gone through it in other articles like a hundred times already.
Your password is key
Make sure it’s safe (numbers, letters, not in the dictionary, special characters – you know the drill). Make sure it’s not on this list. Make sure to use a different one for each of your accounts. Also: Don’t share it – or your account – with anyone. Even better: Use a password manager that creates a secure password for you and saves it so you don’t have to remember it. Done. 😉
Don’t install 3rd party apps
Well – at least not until you are really 100% sure you can trust them. Why? Just think back to the InstaAgent affair. The app – which was one of the top free apps in the Canadian and United Kingdom app store – not only sent your Instagram username and password to a remote server in clear text, it also used the account access to post images on your Instagram in order to promote their app. Not cool, right? So be careful on that front, too.
