Staying Safe Online: Securing Your Instagram Account
As part of our ongoing Staying Safe Online series, we want to provide a clear guide for those looking to make their online presence a little more secure. As people continue to share more information about their lives online, these pieces of information can be exactly what a hacker or scammer is looking for. From providing helpful clues during Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering expedition, or giving a list of your friends and family right to a scammer, insecure Instagram accounts can be a treasure trove of information.
Our friends over at Studio Sec put together a quick walkthrough on how to improve your Instagram account security right from your mobile device.
Securing Your Instagram Account from Your Desktop/Laptop
1. Login into your Instagram account
2. Select your profile picture from the top right corner and select the Settings option from the drop-down list.
3. From the Settings menu, select the Privacy and Security
4. Within the Privacy and Security area you can customize who is able to see the posts you’ve made to Instagram, sharing of your story and posts, as well as who can send you a message, mention you, or comment on your posts.
The most notable options for your profile and posts include the following:
Private Account - When an account is private, only approve people can see your posts
Comment control - Allows you to set who can comment on your posts as well as filter and hide comments with specified words or phrases
Mentions - Allows you to choose who can @mention you, linking your account in stores, comments, and captions
Message Controls - Allows you to decide where message requests go (Chats, Message Requests, or no messages at all)
Hidden Words - Allows you to hide/filter comments and message requests based on offensive words and phrases that can later be reviewed and unhidden.
5. Within the Privacy and Settings area you can also configure your Two-Factor Authentication settings.
When enabled, Instagram will ask for an additional security code (sent via Text Message or generated via an Authentication App) that will required before a login can be performed. This prevents an unauthorized user from accessing your account, even if they know your username and password.
Securing Your Instagram Account from a Mobile Device
Launch the Instagram app on your mobile device and select the Profile option from the bottom navigation bar
2. From your profile select the Menu burger button and select the Settings gear icon
4. Scroll through the settings menu u select the Security option.
5. Within the Security area you can find various security options including the following:
Password - The option to change your password to something that is strong and not easily guessable (it is recommended that you use a password manager to ensure that you don’t reuse the same password across multiple websites and accounts)
Login Activity - A list of all devices currently logged into your Instagram account and their approximate physical location. This can help you identify if there is any current unauthorized access to your account, and log them out.
Two-Factor Authentication - The ability to setup a secondary form of login approval that will be requested if an unrecognized device or browser tries to access your account.
Security Checkup - A quick security checkup guide to ensure your current Instagram security options are secure.
Now What?
After walking through the steps to secure your Instagram account, it is still important that you remain aware of what you’re posting and who you are connected with. Malicious actors such as scammers and hackers will often create fake profiles and try to connect with you in order to learn as much as they can about you and your friends. By following the guide above as well as being more aware of what information you put online, you can stay safe online and limit your chances of falling victim or an online attacker. Be wary of accounts that have a large number of followers that have little to no posts and no profile picture as this can often indicate an in-authentic/bot account. Additionally, be caution when messaging accounts that mention giveaways or free products as these are often techniques used by scammers and malicious users to steal your personal information and even your account passwords.
If you have other social media accounts, make sure to check out our other Staying Safe Online guides as we walk through how to secure your accounts on sites like Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat, TikTok, and more!