4 Tips to Prevent Your Instagram from Getting Hacked — and what to do if it happens
Lately, it seems that a lot of Instagram accounts are being hacked. Top accounts with millions of followers are being hacked and, therefore, losing access — even if just temporarily — to a major channel through which they communicate to their audiences. Significant time investment is required to implement an Instagram strategy, grow your community, engage your audience, and ultimately be successful on Instagram. If you’re not actively monitoring your account security and implementing measures that help to reduce the likelihood that your account will be hacked, you are putting that investment at risk.
There are several strategies you can use to prevent hacking on Instagram.
✨ Enable Two-Factor Authentication
First, turn on two-factor authentication. It’s easy to do — just toggle it on in your account settings in the Instagram app — and can save you from major complications later on. Instagram offers a handful of ways to set up two-factor authentication; however, I prefer to utilize the text code method. This method texts a six-digit code to your phone number on file whenever logging into your Instagram account on a new or unknown device. This method is ideal if there is one person who is most frequently utilizing your business’ Instagram account but may not be the best solution if you have several people accessing your account on various devices. Other options include an authentication app and What’s App. Regardless of which method you choose, by enabling two-factor authentication you can help prevent your Instagram account from being hacked.
✨ Increase Your Password Complexity
The next solution seems simple but is probably one of the most obvious but ignored solutions to improve your Instagram account security. Create a new password that includes capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Ideally, this will be a unique password for the account that you do not use in other places. I know that using the same password is easy and memorable but that presents a major issue — opening doors for hackers to gain access to your account. Instead, use a password storage solution like iCloud, Google Passwords, or LastPass to safely and securely store your unique Instagram password. When utilizing a unique password, your login credentials are more challenging to guess, and therefore, it is more difficult for hackers to gain access to your account.
✨ Regularly Monitor Your Login Activity
Lastly, use the Instagram app to monitor your account login activity. Build time into your daily schedule — a maximum of five minutes — to review your account login activity, approve any valid activity, and report anything that looks suspicious. This will prevent your account from being accessed where it shouldn’t be.
✨ Perform a Security Checkup
If you’re ever curious as to where your account stands in terms of its level of security, you can utilize the Instagram security checkup feature. Based on your account settings — like password or two-factor authentication — Instagram will recommend certain actions to you to better protect your account from being hacked. To access the Instagram Security Checkup feature, simply open your app, navigate to settings, select security, and then Security Checkup.
What to do if Your Instagram Account Gets Hacked
Even if you have enabled all of the security features available on Instagram, it is still possible for your account to get hacked. Should this unfortunate situation happen to you, get in touch with the team at Instagram as soon as possible. Once you report the issue to the Instagram team, they should begin the process of helping you reclaim your account. In the meantime, make your audience aware that your account has been hacked. On your other social media pages and your website, publish an announcement that your account has been hacked and is no longer active. In your communication, be sure to include information on how your community can continue to be engaged with your business — whether that’s by following you on your other social media platforms, visiting your website, or subscribing to your email newsletter.
In the case that your Instagram account cannot be recovered — even with the assistance of the Instagram team, which is unfortunately possible — create a new account using a username that is similar to your original one so as not to detract from your brand recognition. When launching a new Instagram account, clearly communicate with your followers to let them know the situation and that your team is building a new platform so that way you can continue to stay connected and engaged on the Instagram platform and where to follow you.
Getting hacked is devastating. Implementing security measures to prevent your account from being hacked is a critical first step in ensuring your account’s protection. Unfortunately, even if you implement all of the recommended security measures, your account can still be hacked. This demonstrates the incredible importance of building your audience through various channels and platforms. While Instagram is an important and impactful platform, it is critical that you utilize other strategies to engage with your audience, so that in the unfortunate situation that your account is hacked, your investment in marketing efforts is not completely lost.
