What should you do if your Instagram account gets hacked?

Can you recover your hacked Instagram account?

Absolutely, you can.

As social media and the internet are becoming more accessible to a wide range of people, hacking incidents are also increasing rapidly.

In fact, according to a study by NordVPN, about 13% of Americans have been hacked on Instagram.

So if your Instagram account got hacked recently and you don’t know how to recover it, we’ve got your back.

In this post, we’ll show you, how to recover a hacked Instagram account and how you can protect your account from any future hacking attempts.

Continue reading to get your hacked Instagram account back.

Is it Possible to Recover a Stolen or Hacked Instagram Account?

Yes, it’s totally possible to recover a stolen or hacked Instagram account.

But, you have to act too quickly.

If the hacker hasn’t changed your email address, phone number, or Facebook-linked account, you can easily recover your Instagram profile.

You can still recover your account even if they change these things, but you would have to contact Instagram support which might take a long time.

That’s why, if you suspect your Instagram account got hacked, act quickly and recover your account as soon as possible before it gets too late.

How Long Does it Take to Recover a Hacked Instagram Account?

It totally depends on the situation you’re in and how quickly you take action.

If the hackers hasn’t changed your recovery email and phone number, you can recover your account almost instantly.

But if they had already changed that information, you would have to contact Instagram support, which might take a long time.

How to Know If Your Instagram Account is Hacked?

Most of the time, if any hacker hacks your Instagram account, they’ll change the password.

So if you can’t log in to your Instagram account even after entering the right password, your account probably has been hacked.

But on the flip side, sometimes, hackers don’t change the password. They just monitor your activity within the app.

In that case, it can be difficult for you to figure out whether or not your account has been hacked.

But still, some signs may indicate your Instagram account has been hacked:

  • Strange activity: You might notice strange activities within your account. For example, spam messages and Instagram posts are being made automatically.
  • Login from unrecognized devices and locations: If you see a login from any unrecognized devices and locations, that might be a sign that your account has been hacked.
  • Unusual followers and following: If you notice any unusual following count on your account that you’re sure you haven’t done, this means someone also has access to your account.
  • Changes in your account details: If you see any changes in your account details, like your name, bio, date of birth, email address, or phone number, this could be a strong signal that your Instagram account has been hacked already.

If you notice any of these signs, you should act immediately and change your account credentials and password as soon as possible.

How to Recover a Hacked Instagram Account

Recovering a hacked Instagram account isn’t that difficult if the hacker hasn’t changed the email address and phone number associated with your account.

We’re going to show you four different ways you can use to recover your hacked Instagram account quickly.

1. Reset The Password

This is by far the easiest way to get your hacked Instagram account back.

If the hacker hasn’t changed the recovery email address and phone number linked with your account yet, you can easily regain access to your account by resetting your password.

To reset your Instagram password, follow the steps mentioned below:

Step 1. Head over to Instagram’s login page and click on “Forgot password?”.

Recover A Hacked Instagram Account

Step 2. Now enter your username, phone number, or email address.

Reset Instagram password

Step 3. Then, Instagram will send you a login link and a link to reset your password on your registered email address or phone number. Click on “Reset your password” to change your Instagram password.

How to recover a Instagram account

That’s how you can reset your Instagram account password within a minute.

No matter what device you use (whether mobile or desktop), the process for resetting your password will be the same.

2. Check Your Email

Whenever Instagram notices any login from unrecognized devices, they’ll send you an alert email to your email address.

If you think that’s a hacking attempt and someone got access to your account, you can secure your account from that email itself.

Just click on the “secure your account here” link that you’ll find below the email.

Then click on “send confirmation code” and enter the code they’ve sent you in your email.

After that, review the account details and hit “Yes, it’s correct” if you think the information is intact.

But if the hackers have already changed any of the account info, click on “No, secure my account.”

This way, you can access your account even if the hackers have changed any of your account info.

3. Request a Login Link

Using the login link, you can log in to your account again even if the account password has been changed.

And once you get access to your account, you can change your password and log out from other devices to secure your account.

To request a login link, follow the instructions below:

Step 1. Go to Instagram’s login page and click on “Forgot password?”.

Step 2. Enter your username, email, or phone number associated with the account.

Step 3. Now, Instagram will send you a login link to your email address. Once you click on that link, you can access your account again.

Instagram login link

If the hackers have changed the email address, you can request a login link to your phone number as well.

4. Verify Your Identity With Instagram

If the hackers changed both your email address and phone number, the only option you’re left with is Instagram support.

You can contact the Instagram support team and verify your identity to retrieve your account.

If your account doesn’t have any pictures, Instagram will ask you for details such as your email address, phone number, or device type that you have used to sign in earlier.

But if your account has pictures, Instagram will ask you to send a video selfie to confirm you’re the account’s real owner.

However, there isn’t a proper time frame available for this process. It might take days or even months to complete the verification process since it’s completely automated.

There’s nothing you can do before that. 

So eventually, you would have to wait before Instagram completes the verification process.

How Long Does it Take For Instagram to Confirm Your Identity?

It can either take a few days or even a few months for Instagram to verify and confirm your identity.

There isn’t any specific time frame available for that.

The process is totally automated, so you can’t even contact them again unless they revert back.

Should I Call The Police if My Instagram is Hacked?

Yes, if your Instagram account is hacked and someone is using your account for scams and illegal activities, you should report this to your nearest police station.

But at the end of the day, the decision is totally up to you.

If you don’t want to get involved with legal activities and have already got your account back using the methods we’ve shared, there’s no point in reporting this incident to police and law enforcement agencies.

Can You Recover Your Instagram Account If It’s Been Deleted By The Hackers?

If someone hacked and deleted your account, you have 30 days to report this incident to Instagram.

If you fail to report within this timeframe, sadly, you’ll never get your account back.

But if you do report this immediately, most probably Instagram will restore your account.

How to Secure Your Instagram Account From Hacking Attempts

Once you recover your Instagram account, you should do a few things to protect your account from getting hacked again.

Here are a few security tips that you can apply to protect your Instagram account from hackers:

  • Use a strong password: Never use any auto-generated passwords or your name as your account credentials. Always try to think of something unique and complex that hackers can’t crack.
  • Enable two-factor authentication: You can enable two-factor authentication to give your account an extra layer of protection. Once you enable this feature, you will have to insert a code sent to your phone number along with your password to log in to your account. If someone just tries to log in with just the password, access will be denied.
  • Avoid using public WiFi: If you frequently use public WiFi, you should stop it right away. Public WiFi can be easily hacked, and hackers can use that WiFi to access your personal information such as name, phone number, and even passwords.
  • Frequently Check Your Login Activity: You should regularly monitor your login activities. You should change your password immediately if you notice any login from an unrecognized device and location.

Conclusion

Hacking an Instagram account is quite common these days.

If your account also got hacked and you no longer have access to your account, you don’t have to worry.

You can easily recover a hacked Instagram account just by following the methods we’ve shared in this post.

Go through each step carefully, and you should be able to recover your account instantly.

And if none of the methods works for you, you can always contact Instagram support and verify your identity to regain access to your account.

Author

  • Rosette Dusso

    As a guest blog writer for Famoid.com, Rosette offers sharp insights on social media landscapes. Beyond words, she's an avid traveler and digital enthusiast.