Instagram offers a seamless platform for sharing filtered snapshots of life’s highlights. However, like any other online platform, it has also attracted its fair share of malicious users. These individuals engage in activities such as online harassment, hacking, and scams that’s why it’s important to protect your privacy. Thankfully, Instagram has implemented a range of features aimed at enhancing account security.
For data privacy protection in Instagram, you must make the appropriate settings in your account and plan your social media strategies carefully. However, many vulnerabilities are outside of Instagram itself and additional measures are needed to protect your privacy on Instagram.
Tips to Protect Your Privacy and Stay Secure on Instagram
As we mentioned earlier, it’s important to take necessary measures if you want to protect your privacy on Instagram. Here are 6 tips to help you out:
#1 Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Concerned about the possibility of unauthorized access to their Instagram accounts, users can activate two-factor authentication. It’s an effective strategy if you want to protect your privacy.
This security feature sends an authentication code via text message whenever a user logs in to Instagram from a new device. The user must then enter the code to complete the login process.
Here’s how to enable 2FA on Instagram in the app:
- Goes to “Settings” > “Privacy and Security” > “Two-Factor Authentication” > “Get Started.”
- Toggles on “Text Message.”
- If prefers to instead use an authentication app like Google Authenticator, toggle on “Authentication App” instead. The app will check if one is already installed. If not, it will suggest one.
#2 Do Not Share Data With Third-Party Applications
To revoke access to apps that already have it and protect your privacy, one has to use the web interface; this cannot be done through the mobile app. Here’s how:
- The user should log in to Instagram on a browser on a phone or computer and click or tap the person icon on the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Next, they should click or tap on the gear icon.
- On the left-hand menu, they should find and click on “Authorized Apps.” This will display a list of apps that have been authorized to access Instagram.
- For any app they want to unauthorize, the user should click on the “Revoke Access” button and then select “Yes.”
#3 Use a VPN When Using Instagram
With the VPN extension, you can encrypt your traffic and protect your privacy from man-in-the-middle threats, as well as phishing and some other vulnerabilities.
If you install VPN for Mac, when you connect your computer to the network, all data will be encrypted before being sent, and even if intercepted, this will not give attackers anything.
In the same way, you can install a VPN on your iPhone, but it is important to choose the right service. For example, you can try VeePN with a free trial version.
#4 Check If Someone Has Hacked Your Account
Worried that your Instagram account has been hacked and want to protect your privacy? Users can check by viewing their past account activity, including logins, logouts, changing a password, and more.
Using the mobile app, they can go to “Settings” > “Privacy and Security” > “Access Data.” On the web, they need to tap the “person” icon in the upper-right of the screen.
By clicking the gear icon, and selecting “Privacy and Security” > “View Account Data,” they will come across an info page that provides a great deal of data on how their account has been used. Clicking any category will provide more information, such as “Account privacy changes,” “Logins,” “Logouts,” “Hashtags you follow,” and so on.
#5 Manage Tagged Photos
A user can tag someone in a photo, and these tagged photos can be viewed by tapping the photo icon on the person’s profile. However, the person can take steps to control these posts, including removing themselves from tagged images or adjusting their settings to approve tagged photos before they are displayed on their profile.
To make changes, the person can navigate to Settings > Privacy > Tags and disable the “Add Automatically” switch. To remove specific items, they can locate the image, select the three-dot menu, and choose “Hide Options” (for Android) or “Photo Options” (for iOS).
From there, they can opt to remove a tag or hide the photo from their profile. Additionally, they can directly tap on a tag within the image to remove it or hide the photo from their profile.
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#6 Secure Payment Options
Facebook is making significant efforts to promote e-commerce on Instagram. Users are advised to add a passcode to their credit card before making targeted purchases from ads.
To do so, they can navigate to Settings > Payments > Security Pin and activate this feature. This additional security layer will help protect your privacy in case the device is misplaced.
Conclusion
These tips will help you stay secure and protect your privacy on Instagram. It’s important to remember that being proactive is the key to staying safe online.
Setting up two-factor authentication, revoking access from third-party apps, using a VPN, checking for unauthorized logins, managing tagged photos, and enabling payment security options all contribute to greater data privacy protection when using Instagram.
