Popular photo sharing social network Instagram has launched a new security checkup to help users whose accounts have previously been broken into.
Anyone with an affected account will now see an alert upon logging in prompting them to run through the optional security checkup.
Explaining the new safety feature via a blog post, Instagram says the feature walks users through various security steps, asking them to confirm other accounts that share login information, review their earlier login activity, and also suggest they update their recovery contact information.
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“Security Checkup is another way that we are working to keep Instagram accounts as secure as we can,” shares Instagram as it lists various available options that users can use to secure their accounts.
Bot activity
According to reports, there’s been a rise in direct messages fraudulently claiming to be from Instagram in order to get people to share their passwords.
The Verge points out that the new security feature comes amidst users reporting of a deluge of legitimate password reset emails from Instagram.
It reasons that the emails are probably the result of automated bots trying to forcefully break into Instagram accounts, triggering the system to send the password reset emails. While these emails might spook users, Instagram assures that their arrival doesn’t indicate that an account has been hacked.
In the post, Instagram also shared its plans of rolling out support for protecting Instagram accounts using two-factor authentication (2FA) through WhatsApp. It adds that even though the Instagram-WhatsApp integration is in the works, users can still enable 2FA either using their phone number, or other authenticator apps such as Google Authenticator.
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