It’s logical to ask yourself how to protect your Instagram account from being hacked, considering that mischievous people often target people to do bad things and steal their accounts. When people create their social media profile, they entrust everything on the platform. They would put up data about their birthday, address, phone number, and so much more. It gets more complicated if the account is being used for business – which is another strong reason why you don’t want yours to be hacked. So, to prevent such a thing, there are several ways to protect your account and secure it.
Create Strong Password
Yes, people always say it: Create a strong password that no one can guess. But you know what? Most people just ignore it and go on with the easiest password that comes in mind. The reason why they do it is because they may forget their own complex password. Account or data breach often happens when people use old passwords or they have never changed their password at all. It is also possible that they use the simplest form of password they can think about.
So, if you want to learn about how to protect your Instagram account from being hacked, here are the things that you should do:
- Don’t go with the easy or simple password. Avoid using your birthday, one of your kids’ birthday, or your wedding anniversary. Create something unique and different – if possible, use the combination of them all.
- Change your password often. There is no need to have a special date or time, but make sure that you change them.
- Create different password for different accounts. Don’t use the same password for ALL of your social media – it just makes it even easier to break or hack.
- Use the combination of special symbols, numbers, and various case characters for the password. It’s usually the strongest form of all.
- You can try using password manager to help you with all of your important passwords, but make sure that it comes from reliable and trusted source
- There are also apps for storing your passwords. Use them to manage your passwords. Don’t write down your passwords just about anywhere – keeping it in your wallet, writing it down on your journal, etc. Don’t keep the password on Google Docs or even cloud system. There are tools that have been created to help users like you manage and store the password, so make use of them.
Avoid Clicking on Links
Oftentimes, you may get emails containing links to pages or posts that you may be interested in. Or when you are accessing your account, you find links to other platforms. For instance, when you are opening your Facebook page, you find a link to your Instagram. Or when you are exploring your Instagram, you get a link to Twitter. It’s never a good idea to click on those links because they may contain malware that can ‘spy’ on your activities and record whatever you are doing. So, in the event that you find something interesting, it would be best to remember the account or which post it belongs to, and then you open your own account to see them. Clicking on any random links is highly unadvisable if you want to know how to protect your Instagram account from being hacked.
Avoid Connecting via Platforms
These days, many of the major apps are connected to each other. Your Facebook account, for instance, can be connected to your Instagram, and vice versa. It means that you can open two apps from ‘one gate’. When you are opening Facebook, for instance, you don’t need to log out once you are done. Simply connect to your Instagram – and vice versa. It is convenient, simple, easy, and fast, but such way has its own risks and ‘danger’. If any of your social media account has been exposed, the hacker can use it as a gateway to your other accounts. If your Facebook account has been exposed, for example, then hackers should be able to access your Instagram account easily – without them having to try anything! That’s why, connecting through platforms would be a bad idea for this situation.
Activate 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)
How to protect your Instagram account from being hacked? You can use the 2FA feature. Nowadays, most applications offer two-factor authentication features, including Instagram. This feature provides more secure and stronger security system. When you log into your Instagram account from unrecognized and unknown device, you will be required to fill in (SMS) security code that goes along with the password and username. This is powerful enough to prevent anyone trying to get into your account and change your personal info. To activate it, go to your (Instagram) profile and choose the Settings. Scroll down and you will see Two-Factor Authentication option. Turn it on to activate the feature. Read Also: how to find someone password
Protect Your Email
Your email is basically the gateway to everything – your social media account, your profile, your documents and businesses, and others. You want to protect it at all cost. Don’t let your guards down. Filter out everything that comes into your email. If you find something suspicious or unknown email addresses, it’s better to delete it without opening it. Don’t be easily fooled by seemingly interesting offers or discounts or others. These emails often act as ‘Trojan horse’ for malware. If you get shady emails, simply delete them – no questions asked!
Block Suspicious Apps
You may want to check whether suspicious and shady external apps can have access to your private data and profile. On Instagram, there is a special feature where you can revoke the security perimeter and block it. Any apps or sites that don’t go along the Terms of Use or Community Guidelines from Instagram would be blocked. It also includes the Instagram bot. To manage it, you only need to go to the Settings section on Instagram and choose the Authorized Apps. In this section, you can find lists of apps that you allow accessing your account info and profile. If you find anything suspicious, simply click on the option Revoke Access for those third-party apps. In this way, you can block those suspicious apps easily. This is an efficient way on how to protect your Instagram account from being hacked.
Protect Your Gadgets
When you use public WiFi connection, always log out. If you always access the social media through your phone, don’t leave it lying around. It is also a good idea to use security password so you are the only one getting access to your phone. You don’t want to allow access to other people – who can possibly steal your information.
Those are some common methods and ways to protect your social media platforms. And you can practice these ways on how to protect your Instagram account from being hacked.
