Many people have gone through the experience of losing their social media accounts due to being hacked. This is why every once in a while platforms update their Account Safety and Security section and even add more features to help users secure their accounts and prevent any possible hacking attempt.
Instagram has made an important announcement to help its users securing their accounts from hacking or even getting scammed.
The famous platform has presented its users with five important key steps to follow so they can avoid any suspicious activity or phishing attacks.
1- Security Checkup
This is a new feature added by Instagram to help users secure their accounts.
The users whose accounts have been hacked can follow the security checkup’s steps to secure them; this can be done through checking the login activity, confirming the accounts that share login information, reviewing the profile information, and updating account recovery contact.
2- Two-Factor Authentication
This is one of the strongest security features and most recommended.
Two-factor authentication is a feature that helps protect your Instagram account by entering a code. When you activate this feature, you will receive a code on either your phone, Whatsapp, or any authenticator application like the Google Authenticator app.
This feature will ask you to enter a code every time you log in from a different device that is not saved on your Instagram account.
You can activate it by going to Settings, Security, and then choose Two-Factor Authentication.
3- Login Request
A Login Request will be activated when you activate the Two-Factor Authentication.
If someone tried to log in to your account, Instagram will alert you and these alerts will tell you which device and where it is located.
This list of alerts will allow you to accept or deny the request of these devices and you can also view the recently logged-in devices and remove any if you want.
You can access this list through Settings, Security, and then Login activity.
4- Privacy Updates
One of the steps that Instagram recommends following is updating your phone number and email.
Always make sure that the phone number and email you have connected with your account are the ones you are using currently so the application can reach you if something suspicious happens to your account.
These steps will help you recover your account if it was ever hacked.
5- Instagram Will Never Send A DM
Instagram Has one way of communication, and sending a DM is not it.
Over the past few months, users have been getting messages from other accounts pretending to be Instagram asking them about sensitive information like passwords or they send out messages like the account is at risk or about to be banned, or that the user is violating some policies.
These messages are scams and should be reported!
Instagram states that it will never send a DM and if it ever wants to reach a user, it will do it through the “Emails from Instagram” tab in the settings.
This is the only way the application can communicate with its users.
Instagram Urges Users To Report Content And Accounts
If you came across a questionable account or content, report it.
Since Instagram is always improving its technology and security system, it is always recommended to report any suspicious content or account to protect yourself and other accounts from hackers and spammers.
You can do so by either reporting a certain content from the three dots above a post or a whole profile by visiting it and report it directly from there.
Raising Awareness
To raise awareness and urge users to use the safety tools, Instagram has launched a campaign.
The application collaborated with famous influencers and content creators like Khaled Mokhtar, Amr Maskoun, Aly Osman, Adel Aladwani, and Mazen Yaseen to educate the users about account safety and to take the necessary measures to protect themselves and their accounts.
We recommend that you use these security tools to avoid losing your account.
