Instagram Launches New Way to Regain Access to Hacked Accounts
In addition to baseline security recommendations like two-factor authentication and pushing for stronger passwords, Instagram is adding a way for users to regain control of their accounts if they have been hacked.
While the term “hacked” may not be the strictly correct term for what the social media company is referring to, it is the colloquial one to describe the situation. That’s probably why Instagram has set up a new URL: Instagram.com/hacked.
“In addition to these ongoing safety tools, we’re excited to highlight several new features designed to help keep people’s accounts safe, and offer them more support if they lose account access,” the company says in a blog post explaining the new feature.
“We know losing access to your Instagram account can be stressful, so we want to ensure people have multiple options to get their accounts back if they lose access.”
For users who are unable to log into their account and suspect that their login credentials have been compromised, Instagram.com/hacked will guide them through a series of questions to start with — if they think you’ve been hacked, forgot their password, lost access to two-factor authentication, or if their account has been disabled — after which they will be provided with the necessary steps to regain access to their account based on the responses. Users with multiple accounts will be able to choose which one needs support.
In addition to providing more ways for authentic users to regain access to accounts, Instagram says it is testing more ways to prevent hacking on Instagram before it happens.
“First, we remove accounts that our automated systems find to be malicious, including ones that impersonate others, which goes against our Community Guidelines. Second, because bad actors often don’t immediately use accounts maliciously, we’re now testing sending warnings if an account that we suspect may be impersonating someone requests to follow you,” the company says. “In the coming months, we’ll also send warnings if an account that may be impersonating a business sends you a Direct Message.”
The social media company says that it will also be showing the blue verified badge on verified accounts in more places on the platform, with the goal of giving users the ability to more easily identify if the account they are interacting with is authentic. Badges are now being shown in stories, direct messages, and soon in the Feed in addition to Profiles.
Image credits: Instagram
