Instagram has new security feature to help users whose accounts have been hacked

Instagram has rolled out a new security feature for those users whose accounts have been hacked.

Called ‘Security Checkup’, this new feature adds an extra layer of protection to accounts that have been previously compromised.

The feature is going to check login activity; review profile information, confirm the accounts that share login information, and also update account recovery contact information like phone number, and/or email address.

This new feature update is also rather timely since many users have been reporting unauthorises break-ins to their Instagram accounts.

There’s also been a rise in the number of malicious accounts sending direct messages (DMs) to users to try and access sensitive information like passwords, the company said.

“They (malicious accounts) may tell you that your account is at risk of being banned; that you are violating our policies around intellectual property, or that your photos are being shared elsewhere.

These messages are often scams and violate our policies. IG will never send you a DM,” Instagram explained.

The company said that all official and authentic communication from the company will be done through the “Emails from Instagram” tab in settings and not via DMs.

Users have been advised to not engage with anyone pretending to be from Instagram in personal messages.

Earlier in June this year, a security researcher from Maharashtra; Mayur Fartade, had spotted a bug on Instagram that could be exploited by hackers to view private and archived posts, stories, and other media on the platform.This bug could also be used by hackers to store details about specific media by brute-forcing media IDs.

Also, in February this year; Instagram took down hundreds of accounts that hacked and sold for their high-value usernames by a group who called themselves the “OGUsers”.

Instagram has recommended that users enable two-factor authentication for additional security on their accounts.

Users will also be able to add two-factor authentication for Instagram via their WhatsApp numbers soon; this will be available in certain countries only for now.

The Facebook-owned company also suggested some other additional security measures to protect accounts including enabling login requests; reporting questionable accounts and content, and updating contact details frequently to stay up-to-date.