Hacking is a serious issue. If you’ve been hacked, your entire identity has been compromised and now your followers have been stolen from you. You will have to take action quickly if this happens to you. Here’s what you need to do if your Instagram account is hacked.
One of the most frustrating things is to find out that your Instagram account has been hacked. This may include your password and username, or just your username. Either way, it can be a headache to get back into your account and figure out what happened. This guide will teach you how to react if this unfortunate scenario ever happens to you.
There are many steps you can take to minimize the damage done by a hacker, as well as how to recover your account from the person who hacked it. Whether it’s for personal reasons or for marketing purposes, here are some simple steps that should help.
What to do if your account is hacked
if your instagram account is hacked, then you need to follow all these steps to reaccess your instagram account.
Report to the Instagram
The moment you notice your account has been hacked, the first step you should take is to report it to Instagram. This will flag the account as hacked and prevent them from accessing it.
It is not possible for a hacker to take over your account without knowing your password, so if this doesn’t help, then you’ll need to contact Instagram support.
Use Instagram Account Recovery
If you ever find your account has been hacked, the first thing you should do is try to get it back. Use Instagram Account Recovery to reclaim your account. It’s simple and straightforward; simply follow the steps in the app to log out of the current account and take control of your original one.
It’s worth noting that if something like this happens, there will be no way to recover any posts or information from the old account. All of these items will be deleted once you’ve regained control. You can use this opportunity to make sure everything is set up correctly for when you take over again.
If you don’t have an Instagram Account Recovery saved on your phone already, create one now. If you’re worried about someone hacking into your other accounts, then go ahead and save more than one recovery option for yourself.
Check Your Login Activity
If you’re not sure if your account has been hacked, go to the activity log. This will show you recent login information for your account. If you find any unusual login information, it’s best to act quickly.
To see which devices Instagram is logged into, you have to go to your Instagram profile and choose Settings > Security > Login activity. Then, you see a list of regions where your Instagram is logged in.
If you believe that there is a location in the login activity where you are not logged in, then you can log out by clicking “This wasn’t me“.
Check and Confirm your phone number and email in the settings
If you have your phone number and email set up in the settings on Instagram, it will make it much easier to recover your account. If you are logged out, this is the first thing you should do. This way, if someone ever hacked your account, they will be logged out too.
Instagram uses your phone number and email ID to give you login information, but sometimes hackers change your email ID and phone number. As soon as you check it, your email id and phone have not changed.
To check your saved contact information on Instagram, go to Settings > Account> Personal Information.
Look for new login notifications in your email
If you have an email account, then you should always keep track of your login notifications. If someone is able to get into your account through Instagram then they may also be able to access your email, so check for new login notifications in your inbox.
Note: If you have received a login notification email from Instagram, then you have to check Instagram email properly because sometimes hackers can send login notifications to hack your account, to find out whether this notification is from Instagram or not, Instagram uses security@mail.instagram.com when it sends you email notifications.
One more thing related to this email:
Unfortunately, hackers copy Instagram’s official email and then mention this email in the notification email, and claim to be from Instagram, but these are hackers.
Have a look at your feed and stories
First, make sure to check your Instagram feed and stories. One of the first things a hacker will do is post inappropriate photos to your account. If you see anything like this, don’t forget to report them!
Now it is easy to add custom links to the Instagram story, which has more than 10k, hackers add the spammy link so that your followers visit by clicking on that link.
Open your Instagram direct messages
Some hackers will try to get into your account by sending you a direct message. As soon as you notice this, open all of your Instagram messages and stop responding to any messages from people you don’t know.
Hackers send direct messages to your followers, then ask for money, or send spam links that are harmful to your followers.
How to recover your account
If you have been hacked, the first thing you need to do is change your password. This will prevent the hacker from accessing your account again in the future.
The next step is to access your account. If you’re still able to log in, it’s likely that no one has changed anything yet. You can then go through your settings, log out of all devices by going to Login Activity, and delete all posts while unfollowing any accounts associated with the hacker.
If you are unable to log in to your account, however, it may already be too late. If this is the case, follow these steps:
First, go through your settings and delete any posts or photos which were posted by the hacker
Second, unfollow any accounts which could’ve been connected with the hacker (along with changing passwords)
Third, report your Instagram account as hacked
Fourth, wait for Instagram’s response
Fifth, change passwords
Sixth, make sure no one else has access to your social media platforms
Seventh, report the user in question on various platforms if necessary
Eighth, change the login information for all other social media platforms (if necessary).
It’s important to know that hacking doesn’t just happen on Instagram – it can also happen on Facebook or Twitter. So always be aware.
How to protect Instagram from hackers in the future
Want to know about how to protect your Instagram account from hackers in future, follow all these steps.
1. Create a strong password
A strong password is the first step to protecting your Instagram account. It’s easy to create a secure password by following these simple steps:
- Use letters, numbers, and symbols in your password.
- Make it at least 14 characters long.
- Don’t use any of your personal information or other easy passwords.
This may sound like common sense, but don’t use dictionary words, variations of your name, and don’t forget to change your password every few months.
2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
A hacker will usually take over your account by guessing your password or login information. With 2FA, a hacker would have to have access to the phone that has the 2FA app installed and know your username and password in order to have access to your account. This is a much safer way to protect yourself from account hacking.
Even if someone gets your password, they’ll need a second form of identification before they can log in. To enable 2FA, go into your settings on Instagram and tap “Login Verification.” Choose to require a code sent through SMS text message whenever you log in from a new device or browser.
3. Time to time Check Your Login Activity
Even if you don’t have any reason to suspect that your account may have been hacked, it’s still a good idea to periodically check for suspicious activity. This will help you quickly figure out if and when your login information has been compromised.
Within Instagram, there is a “Login Activity” tab in the “Settings” section of the app. You can use this tab to see who logged into your account and when they did so. If you notice anything fishy (or someone has somehow managed to get into your account), then head on over to step two!
4. Remove access to any suspicious third-party apps or websites
If you’re not careful, a hacker can access your account through a third-party app or website. to remove any suspicious apps from your Instagram account, go to the settings and find the Apps and websites tab. Scroll down until you find any suspicious apps. Remove these from your Instagram account to avoid any future hacking attempts.
Because sometimes third-party applications and websites can cause your account to be hacked, so it would be better for you to remove the application and website which is looking suspicious from Instagram.
5. Use Instagram Account Recovery
If you can’t log in to your account, try the Instagram Account Recovery option. This will help you regain access to your account and reset your password. You will need to provide a phone number and email address where you can be reached.
1) Go to the Instagram website and log in
2) Select “forgot username or password?” and provide your email address and phone number
3) Verify that the email address is correct by clicking on the link that Instagram sends you
4) Enter a new password and confirm it
6. Avoid connecting to Instagram via Facebook
It has become a trend these days that Facebook is used to log in to Instagram and other apps, which is the biggest mistake today, because if your Facebook account or credential gets hacked, then hackers can take all your connected accounts in a blink of an eye can hack.
We recommend that you should make different credentials for all accounts so that you do not have any problems in the future.
Conclusion
If you see that your account has been hacked, it’s important to act immediately. In the guide above we’ve provided a step-by-step process on what to do if this unfortunate situation were to happen to you.