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Instagram Security
1. How to make instagram private
If you don’t want your photos to be public and available to be seen by
everyone, you can make your profile private.
To only share your photos with the users you choose, like your friends
and family, follow these steps:
1. Go to your Instagram profile window.
2. Click on the three dots in the right corner.
3. At the bottom you’ll find the Private Account option. Make sure this
security setting is ON. (The button should turn to Blue)
Activating this option means that only those who follow you can see
your online photos.
Instagram Security - Make your account private
2. Block followers you don’t know
You have created an Instagram account and you want followers. So,
you start following even unknown people that you discover. In return,
some of them follow you back. However, after a while, you may start
to receive inappropriate comments on your photos from those users.
Or, on the contrary, they may not interact with your posts in any ways
and you feel that they are only lurking.
Even if you have turned on the option to make your photos private, it
won’t keep your posts private from those who are already following
you.
In this case, you will have to manually remove (Block) the people you
don’t want to see your photos.
To remove one of your followers from your list, follow these steps:
1. Go to your Followers list and check out the people who follow you.
2. Tap on the user that you want to block.
3. From the top-right corner, tap on the menu button.
4. In the new window, choose the Block User option.
Instagram Security - How to block followers
3. Keep your Profile Information Private
Don’t expose too much private data in your profile information and
especially in your EDIT PROFILE area.
Don’t write any personal information that could be used against you in
the Bio field.
Instagram Security - How to edit your profile information
4. Don’t expose your location
Another important step you can take to keep yourself secure from
identity theft and hide your account’s credentials from online criminals,
is to make sure your location services for Instagram is turned off.
This is also extremely important for the check-ins made at home, at
work or while on a vacation. There have been plenty of cases of thiefs
that were tipped off because of check-ins made on social media.
People left for a short holiday, bragged about it online, and came home
to find the place emptied.
So, the first step to avoid becoming a victim is, of course, to avoid
checking-in certain photos.
If it’s too late to do that, you should check and remove the location
you added to your past photos.
To do this, follow these simple steps:
1. Go to your Instagram profile account.
2. Tap on the dropped pin icon.
3. At the top right of the screen you’ll see three dots, tap on them and
then click on “Edit”.
4. You’ll see a photo map of your photos that have geotags. From
there on, you just have to select the photos that you want to remove
from your geo-map. Tap on them, and then tap on the check mark at
the top right of the screen.
5. It will ask you to Confirm that you want to remove the geotags and
permanently remove their location data from Instagram – click
Confirm and that will be it.
How to remove geo tag location from Instagram account
5. Manually approve Photo Tags
Let’s just imagine a situation where someone posts an embarrassing
photo with you on Instagram, a photo your friends or family members
should not see.
For an individual who cares about reputation and social status, this
could be quite a difficult moment.
So, what can we do to keep ourselves protected from this type of
surprises?
The answer in this case is to activate the Instagram option that allows
you to manually add photos you’ve been tagged in to your profile.
To do this, follow these steps:
1. Go to your Instagram profile account.
2. Access the Photos of You area.
3. Tap the menu button in the top-right corner.
4. Choose the option to add photos manually to your profile.
Instagram security - how to add photo tags manually
6. Activate Two-Factor Authentication
This is an option recently introduced by Facebook, they activated in
February 2016, but it’s most welcome.
Two-Factor Authentication works as an extra shield of protection for
your account. In case a cyber criminal somehow finds out your
password, they won’t be able to take over your account, as they will
need this second factor to authenticate themselves.
The second factor consists of a unique, time-sensitive code, that you’ll
receive via text on your mobile phone. You’ll have to introduce it any
time you’ll want to log-in to your Instagram account from a new
device.
Of course, it’s also essential that you set a strong, unique password to
your account, so don’t ignore that aspect either.
Here’s how to turn on the Two-Factor Authentication:
1. In the mobile app, go on your Instagram profile.
2. Click on the Settings icon (top right of the screen).
3. In the menu you’ll see a shortlink for “Two-Factor Authentication”,
click on it.
4. Turn it on and set it up using your mobile phone.
That’s it. From now on, any time you’ll want to log in to your
Instagram account from a new mobile phone, you’ll have to introduce
the password and the extra unique code, that you’ll receive via text
message.
As an alternative, in case you ever lose your mobile and don’t have
access to your phone number, you can also use one of the Backup
Codes. Each Instagram account has five unique codes. You’ll find them
in the same place where you activate the Two-Factor Authentication.
Instagram security - How to activate Two Factor Authentication
7. Revoke access to third party apps
Most likely you logged in using your social account to third party apps.
It can be other social networks, or services that analyse your number
of followers, post on your behalf and so on.
For security and privacy matters, you should only allow access to the
apps that are trustworthy (especially those created directly by the
Instagram and Facebook teams). Remember that those apps have
access to your profile and personal information, thus making you
vulnerable.
So take your time and do a spring cleaning. Check every single app
that you allowed to access and use your Instagram account. Revoke
access to the ones that you don’t use anymore, look suspicious or you
can’t even remember them.
Here’s how to do that:
1. Log into your Instagram account from the browser (desktop /
laptop).
2. On the top right of the screen, click on your profile photo. Select
“Edit Profile”.
3. From the Menu, select “Manage Applications”. It will take you to a
page from where you can manage the apps that you authorized to use
your Instagram account. Revoke access to any apps that might make
your account vulnerable.
Instagram security - revoke access to third party apps
General Guidelines to follow before posting on Instagram
• Don’t post sensitive information in your photos or captions
• Don’t reveal your location
• Make sure the location is not revealed by background details
either
• Don’t use hashtags that may reveal private data (or the location)
• Don’t post provocative or violent photos
• Don’t post photos of other people without their consent
• Do not engage in online bullying
• Parents, please don’t post photos of your kids online
• If you log into your Instagram account from other devices
(public / shared), make sure you log out every time
