How to tell if an Instagram account has been hacked
Be vuoi scoprire who enters your Instagram profile, it's probably because you believe your account has been compromised. If you have this suspicion, it is very important to be absolutely certain before reporting this issue to the social network team. In the following lines, therefore, I will explain how to understand if your Instagram account has been the subject of a violation by a third party.
Receiving emails for suspicious activity
Generally speaking, you must first know that Instagram is able to efficiently protect accounts. The platform, in fact, integrates a tool that blocks access to an account if it logs in from an unknown IP address. This native functionality then allows you to discover any unauthorized access attempts.
To take advantage of it, access the email address you used to sign up for Instagram and check if you have received an email message from the social network team (please beware of fake emails and phishing attempts). The email in question will indicate that someone has tried to log into your account and that, to unlock access, they need to know the security code received in the email you are reading.
If you are not logged in from a different IP address than usual, there may have been an attempt to hack your account.
Inability to access the account
It is usually quite easy to tell if your account Instagram is the victim of a hacker attack: in the most common cases you may encounter serious difficulties in logging in.
If you're having a similar problem, don't be alarmed right away - maybe you're just typing the wrong login details. Therefore, before reporting to the Instagram a violation of your account, please try a preliminary procedure related to profile recovery.
To recover the account you can proceed through the use of the application for Android, iOS or Windows 10, but also through the official website of the social network.
In all cases mentioned, to restore the account it is necessary to fill in the recovery form indicated by the social network, providing other known information, such as e-mail address, username or telephone number associated with the account. In this regard, since there are several methods to do it, I refer you to reading my specific guide dedicated to recovering an Instagram account.
Verification of the contents
If you are able to log into your account, but still believe it has been hacked, check that no suspicious content has been posted there.
Then access the section of your profile by tapping on the icon with the symbol of a little man from the main Instagram screen and check the photos and videos posted. Also check the number of people you follow by tapping on the wording followed located at the top. In case of a profile Instagram hacked, in fact, you may find significant discrepancies between the number and names of the people you followed previously and the current one.
Another useful way to find out if someone has accessed your account is to check if there have been any changes to your profile information (section with the symbol of a little man from the main screen), or if there are suspicious private messages that you have not sent, perhaps even containing external links.
Then access the section on sending private messages from the main page of Instagram (is the one with the symbol of a small house) by tapping the button of a airplane in the upper right corner, and check that everything is in order.
Still on the subject of content verification, I also recommend that you check the login screen. To do this, access the platform from the Web version, press the icon with the symbol of a little man and then on button with a gear, then click on the entry Privacy and security.
Now, click on the wording View account information, in order to see on the screen a section that covers all your account information, including the connessioni, profile information and activity. If there has been a breach of your account, you can be sure via this screen.
In fact, press the buttons View all in correspondence with the aforementioned sections, to see if there have been any changes to the Password, The email addresses or if the profile information. Also press on the item View all, in correspondence with the wording Accesses, to see the access logs. You will thus be able to easily notice any changes to your account or logins that you have not performed.
You can also access this screen through the Instagram for Android or iOS: go to your profile section (the icon with the symbol of a little man), tap the button ☰ and on button of a gear down. Press on the item Account data to see from your device all the information mentioned above.
Check for keyloggers
In addition to understanding if indeed a profile Instagram has been hacked, it is very important to check for any keylogger software on your computer.
The keyloggers are in fact malicious programs that are able to "sniff" the data of the user-victim, capturing everything that is typed on the computer keyboard. In case you suspect a breach of your account Instagram, it is necessary to act as soon as possible, to find the presence of a keylogger, in order to eliminate it and prevent it from acting undisturbed again.
In this regard, I have provided you with all the useful tips to find a keylogger, and I have told you in detail about how to use the main anti-keylogger software, in my guide dedicated to the subject. If you use a smartphone Android, I also recommend that you use a specific antivirus for the device and look for any spy software installed on it.
What to do if the profile has been hacked
Have you attempted to restore your Instagram account, but are no longer able to access it because your login details have been changed? Have you discovered unauthorized changes to your profile and want to take action before it's too late? If the answer to these questions is yes, I still recommend that you try to stay calm. In the following lines I will explain step by step how to act to remedy this problem.
Change Password
The first procedure you need to perform, in case your profile Instagram has been hacked, but I could still access it, is related to changing the password. To do this, you can act through the version of the social network, by connecting to this link that refers to the official website of the platform.
Then log in with your account details and, before it's too late, change your password. Then use the text field Old Password to type the password of your account, while in those named New password e Confirm the new password, type in the new password you want to use for your account. At the end of this procedure, press the button Change your password.
Eventually, you can also change your password by using the application Instagram for Android and iOS. Log in to your account and, from your profile screen (the one with the symbol of a little man) tap the button ☰ and then presses on the voice Settings located at the bottom.
Then identify the wording Password and tap on it, in order to receive an email at the email address linked to your account. Now change your password by pressing the button Reset password that you will find in the email received.
Revoke access to unauthorized applications
In case your account Instagram has been hacked, but you still managed to access it, I recommend that you also perform a procedure that is used to revoke access to unauthorized applications, in order to prevent further unwanted logins.
To do this, you must act through the official website of the social network, then connected directly to this Web page which is related to the section Authorized applications di Instagram.
From this screen, locate all applications and if there are any unknown or unauthorized ones, click Revoke access and validate the operation by clicking on Yes, at the notice Do you confirm that you want to revoke the access of this app?.
Enable two-factor authentication
Another procedure to perform, in case of unauthorized access to your account Instagram, it relates to the activation of two-factor authentication, which is also configured as a prevention tool.
To activate it, you can act through the application of Instagram from your device or even from the official website, through a browser for browsing the Internet.
In the first case, log in to the account and press the icon with the symbol of a little man to view your profile, then tap on button ☰ located at the top left and press on the item Settings.
Now, from the menu options, locate the item Two-factor authentication and tap on it, moving the lever from OFF a ON, in correspondence with the wording Request a security code.
Confirm the operation by pressing the button Active and enter the verification code you received via message, to activate the backup codes. The latter are used to log into your account if you are unable to receive the two-step verification security code via SMS. So keep these codes in a safe place and don't share them with people you don't trust.
From the Instagram website, click on the i insteadcona of your profile, then on symbol of a gear and Privacy and Security. Then click Enable two-factor authentication, put the check mark on the item Request a security code, tap on Active and, after confirming your phone number, click NEXT, in order to receive a confirmation code for activating two-step authentication. Finally, click end and save the backup codes you see on the screen.
Request assistance from Instagram
Also, just in case your account Instagram has been hacked, and I could no longer access it, it is possible that this has been disabled, due to a violation of community guidelines or terms of use. If this suspension is the result of an error, you must contact the social network support to assert your reasons and explain that the problem is related to the violation of your account.
To do this, use the application of Instagram installed on your device: from the login page, tap on the wording Forgot Password and then Do you need further assistance? Through this screen, first of all indicate the data of the email address with which you signed up to the social network and also, possibly, an additional email address for the contact.
After that, put the check mark on the following boxes, to indicate if it is a personal account or of an business account, and then also put the check mark next to the item My account has been hacked. Use the text field below to indicate a Instagram the nature of your problem and press the button Request assistance.
In this case, please note that it may take days for the team to Instagram get in touch with you and help you solve the problem. Furthermore, if you encounter problems in contacting support, refer to this tutorial of mine, or to the guide in which I explain how to reactivate the Instagram account.
How to prevent subsequent hacker attacks
In this tutorial I have mainly explained to you how to find out if there have been any violations of your profile Instagram and how to solve this problem. Before I leave you, however, I want to give you some useful advice on how to prevent this problem from happening again.
In addition to activating two-factor authentication, as already explained in the previous paragraph, the most important suggestion you can put into practice is to use a secure password different from the one you use in other web services or applications. As I explained to you in my guide on how to create secure passwords, an ideal password must meet certain length requirements and must be constantly updated.
Also, a suggestion I want to give you is to not install third-party applications or modified apps that require access to your profile Instagram, as these may not be secure and steal your account data.
How to see who visits your Instagram profile
If you do not have security problems related to your Instagram account, but are simply looking for a way to find out who visits your Instagram profile, read the guide I have dedicated to the topic. I bet this reading will turn out to be very interesting for you too.
How to find out who enters your Instagram profile
