Instagram’s new tool makes it easier to recover hacked accounts

Having to deal with hacked accounts has become a frustratingly common occurrence in recent years. How often do you log on to Facebook and see a bizarre post or message from a friend or family member, only to discover the account has been compromised? Unfortunately, hackers are frequently one step ahead, which may explain why Instagram just launched a new tool to make it easier for users to recover their hacked accounts.

On Thursday, Instagram revealed “a new, comprehensive destination people can rely on to report and resolve account access issues.”

How to recover hacked Instagram accounts

If you’re having trouble logging into Instagram, first go to Instagram.com/hacked on a mobile or desktop browser. Instagram will then ask why you can’t get into your account. Was your account hacked, did you forget your password, did you lose access to your two-factor authentication, was your account disabled, or was it something else?

Depending on which option you choose, Instagram will then ask you to follow a series of steps to resolve the issue. One of the potential solutions is to have two of your friends verify your identity to get you back into your account. Instagram began testing this feature earlier in 2022, but it’s now available to everyone with an Instagram account.

Instagram is also trying to make it more difficult for threat actors to hack your account in the first place. The first step will be to remove accounts the platform’s automated systems find to be malicious. Up next will be sending warnings if an account that Instagram suspects may be impersonating someone requests to follow you. Instagram will also start sending warnings when an account that may be impersonating a business sends you a DM.

Instagram will also display the blue verified badge for verified accounts in more places across the app. That should make it easier to determine if an account is authentic or not. The blue verified badges will start showing up in Stories, DMs, and your Feed.