Instagram was launched in 2010 and since then, it has grown drastically.
In fact, recently, it has become a new address for today’s generation where they come to post every activity they perform; do business; share their personal life updates; interact with others, and much more.
Hence, Instagram now with 1 billion active users is considered as one of the biggest social media platforms out there where people who love to explore share their experience and others love watching their posts and stories on the same.
Well! This huge increase in the popularity of Instagram is due to the fun, easy nature of the app, constant updates, introduction of new features, and not just that, there are other factors as well. For instance—
- Instagram has become a great source of earning for millions of people.
- It helps its users to share their experiences and activities from anywhere and from any device with or without using the app.
- Also, it stores the user’s data and there is no need to back up which helps users to log in from any device to easily access everything about their account.
Certainly, this helps users in most cases but, at times leads to problems for many of them as they could not remember how many devices their account is open and this may give someone else the opportunity of using their Instagram account.
And, it’s a big concern, especially if we look at the current scenario when social media accounts have become a prime target of hackers as they are an electronic doorway into a person’s entire life to steal ‘all sorts of personal and sensitive information for their own benefits.
Though, it was mistaken that a site like Instagram is more or less safe from such fears since it’s just a place for people to post pictures. But, not anymore as already mentioned, Instagram has become more than a place to share photos and videos.
So, if you’re aware you know that Instagram has been hacked in the past, most recently in 2017 when up to 6 million accounts were compromised.
In regard to this, let’s agree upon one thing that everyone cares about and consider a priority is ‘Privacy.’
Can You Check If Someone Tries to Login to Your Instagram Account?
Your privacy as a user is particularly important because you of course don’t want some stranger, friend, or even family member to access your Instagram account without your permission, right!
So, if you’re in a situation where you find that there are some activities on your Instagram account which are unfamiliar to you, and you become conscious that someone else has done this. For example, you will have to pay attention to any unusual activity on your account—
- Uploads that you didn’t publish,
- People you are following that you don’t remember following,
- Followers you don’t recognize or didn’t approve,
- Messages you didn’t send or ones you’ve received are from people you don’t know.
- An email from Instagram to request password changes and privacy changes to your Instagram account & so on.
In any case, the first question that must have come to your mind is, can you check whether someone else has tried to login to your Instagram account or not?
The answer to this is …yes!
If you suspect that someone else manages to log into your Instagram account without authorization then, luckily enough, there is an easy way out to find if someone has accessed your account or is currently using it or not!
Wondering what’s that? Well, without taking much of your time, let us tell you that you can confirm who and when was someone logged in to your profile through your ‘Instagram Login Activity.’
About Instagram Login Activity Feature
Instagram login activity helps you to check whether there is any login activity which has been performed or not as this feature of Instagram helps you in two ways—
- Firstly, you can check your login activity and find out at what different times your account has been logged in.
- Secondly, Instagram sends you a notification to your registered number about the time and location of the user who has logged in to your account. [Note: If this happens there is a high chance that someone else might be using your Instagram account.]
How to Check the History of Your Instagram Login Activity?
Not to mention, but this is one of the best things about Instagram is that you need not have to use any third-party app to check things like your Instagram login activity. Instead, this can be done from within the app itself.
Therefore, in this section, we’ll help you check the login history or the latest logins on your Instagram account to be able to tell if someone has been using your Instagram account. So, have a look at how you can do this —
| [Note: In this section, we have combined steps for both Android and iPhone platforms, because when it comes to the Instagram app, the difference is barely noticeable between the two devices.] |
- Step 1: Launch the Instagram app and login in with your username and password.
- Step 2: Then, go to the main ‘Profile page’ of your Instagram account.
- Step 3: There, in the top right corner, tap on the ‘Three-line menu’ aka ‘hamburger side menu’ in which you find the setting option at the end.
- Step 4: Tap on the ‘Setting’ to get onto a new page where different sections will open. From them, find and tap on the ‘Security’ section to expand.
- Step 5: Inside this section, you have to press the ‘Login Activity’ option. In doing so, the Login activity screen opens. There, you will find the complete login activity of your Instagram account to see a list of devices and locations from which you or someone else has logged into your account.
| [Note: Since Instagram also provides you the facility to log in through a browser just like on the phone so, with few minor changes only you can check your login activity on any OS like Windows/Mac/Linux or any other browser too.] |
- Step 1: Open the Instagram.com website using your preferred web browser on your respective PC.
- Step 2: Then, login to Instagram with your username and password.
- Step 3: Next, click on your ‘Profile Icon’ located on the top-right side of your Instagram account page.
- Step 4: Following that, click on ‘Profile’ and then, on the ‘Cog Icon’ which is right next to the ‘Edit Profile’ button.
- Step 5: Now, a pop up opens in which you have to click on the ‘Login Activity’ button given on the left-side menu.
- Step 6: As you do so, Instagram shows you the whole list of last login activity with time and location of the users who have accessed or tried to login to your account. [Note: In the list, Instagram also provides you the device IP which were used to login.]
This way, you will be able to review the login activity of your Instagram account to clarify whether the login is done either by you or by someone else.
So, if you happen to find out a time and location of login which is unfamiliar then, in that case, what you need to do to avoid the data theft and to keep your privacy intact is what we’ve explained underneath in detail.
What Action to Take If There’s A Suspicious Login Session on Your Instagram?
Usually, users automatically receive a notification from Instagram if the platform detects a suspicious login attempt. This is the full error message that Instagram sends— “We detected an unusual login attempt. To secure your account, you need to request help logging in.”
However, in most cases, the error message that one receives is a glitch as Instagram considers a suspicious login attempt even when the owner of the account is trying to log in to their account from another device or location.
Hence, you should consider checking your login activity as a reliable way to not only check who logged into your Instagram but also to see where your Instagram is logged in!
And, in your Instagram login activity log, if it seems that there’s a suspicious login session then, it simply indicates to one thing and i.e., someone else is/has been using your Instagram account to do either or all the followings on your behalf —
- Delete your posts
- Answer your DMs
- Make (inappropriate) posts and comments
- Change your login (username and password) details
- Upload photos and videos to your stories and/or
- Leak your account information
Thus, you should act immediately to do some damage control for your account that was compromised.
However, if you’re wondering what to do to secure your Instagram account then, let us tell you that you need to first log out the desktop or mobile device ‘the suspicious person’ is logged from.
Logging out of devices that you don’t want on your Instagram profile takes just a minute or two, and luckily you can do it from the app and also through the platform’s official website.
You can also watch the related video here:
As removing unwanted devices on both versions of the Instagram mobile app are almost same so, here are the steps you should follow to log out of Instagram on all devices using your respective Android or iPhone mobile Instagram app—
- Step 1: Launch the Instagram app on your Android or iPhone.
- Step 2: Then, tap the ‘Profile Icon’ which is located in the top-right section [on Android] and at the bottom-right [on iPhone.]
- Step 3: Following that, tap on the ‘Menu’ aka ‘Hamburger Icon’ from the top-right section of your profile page.
- Step 4: Next, you’ve to tap on the ‘Settings’ option from the left menu list.
- Step 5: Now, from the expanded settings menu that appears on the screen, select the ‘Security’ option.
- Step 6: From it, you simply need to choose the ‘Login Activity’ section to open.
- Step 7: Inside the login activity screen, what you’ve to do is tap on the ‘Three horizontal dots’ located next to the first device you select to log out from.
- Step 8: As you do so, a list of options will appear from which you simply need to select the ‘Log Out’ option given underneath the map.
Once you’ve done that, Instagram will display the ‘Logged out message’ to inform you that the Instagram app has successfully logged you or someone else out of the session in question!
Similarly, you can sign off from the unwanted devices via using the official Instagram website on Mac, Linux, Windows, or any other PC/laptop in this manner—
- Step 1: Go to Instagram’s Official Site using the web browser of your choice on your respective O.S.
- Step 2: Then, simply log in to your Instagram account by entering your username and password (if required).
- Step 3: Once logged in, click on the ‘Cog Icon’ located at the top of the screen to open ‘Settings.’
- Step 4: From the settings menu that pops up, what you’ve to do is select the ‘Login Activity’ option. This will display the list of all login locations from which either you or someone else has logged into your account.
- Step 5: Now, check the list displaying all login locations thoroughly and then, click on the down-arrow next to the login entry you find suspicious.
- Step 6: As you do so, Instagram will showcase in front of you the approximate location, date, time of the login and also the device used for login.
- Step 7: After you go-through all this, just click on the ‘Log Out’ button under the selected entry that you wish to remove.
Now, Instagram will most probably display the ‘Session Logged Out’ message on the screen and when you see that, make sure you select the ‘OK’ button to confirm.
| [Note: If more than one login entry looks suspicious then, you need to repeat the process for all questionable entries on the list.] |
Once you’re logged out of all devices, what secondly you can do to secure your Instagram account is to log back into your account and change your Instagram account password.
Watch the video to change your Instagram password:
Also, this is the fastest way to clear all logged-in devices from Instagram as it forces all devices to log in again with the new password. That also means if you yourself have logged in from two or more devices then, you have to log in again on every device. But, let’s admit this is not more to ask from you when it’s a matter of your account security, right!
In fact, it will be worth your efforts. So, on that note, let’s see how you can change your Instagram account password.
- Step 1: Open the Instagram app on your respective phone.
- Step 2: Then, go to your profile by tapping on your ‘Profile Icon.’
- Step 3: On the profile page, tap on the ‘Hamburger Icon’ to open your account’s menu list.
- Step 4: From the top of the menu, you’ve to select the ‘Settings’ option.
- Step 5: Now, choose the ‘Security’ option from the expanded settings.
- Step 6: In that, you need to tap on the ‘Password’ section to enter your current password in the top text box.
- Step 7: Next, you need to enter the new password of your choice and then, make sure to re-enter it also.
- Step 8: Once done, just tap on the ‘Checkmark Icon’ to save the made changes.
- Step 1: Launch the web browser of your choice on your respective PC to go to Instagram’s official site.
- Step 2: On reaching there, click on your ‘Profile Icon.’
- Step 3: Then, click on the ‘Settings Cog Icon’ from your profile page.
- Step 4: Next, from your account settings menu that pops up, you’ve to select the ‘Change Password’ option.
- Step 5: Now, enter your ‘Old password’ first and then, type your ‘New Password’ twice in the desired text-fields.
- Step 6: Once done, click on the ‘Change Password’ button to save the recently made changes.
Now as you’ve changed your password, whoever logged in to your Instagram account needs to re-login to access it again and without figuring out the password that you’ve recently changed, none will be able to use your account any further!
Next, you should turn on two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security. Two-factor authentication helps to make sure that it’s only you who can log in to your account and none can get access to your account easily. Well, because turning on two-factor authentication means you’ll receive a confirmation code which you’ll need to enter first in order to log in.
Now, as enough has been discussed about the two-factor authentication feature that secures your Instagram account by automatically notifying you if anyone attempts to log into your account so, let’s see how to set it up—
- Step 1: Begin by logging to your Instagram account.
- Step 2: Once logged in, go to your ‘Instagram profile.’
- Step 3: Then, go to ‘Settings’ followed by that, select the ‘Security’ option.
- Step 4: Inside it, you simply need to scroll down and select the ‘Two Factor Authentication.’
- Step 5: After that, you’ve switched the button next to ‘Text Message.’ However, if you’ve not linked your phone number to your Instagram account then, you will be asked to provide one and once you have entered your phone number, you need to just hit the ‘Next’ button.
So, this is how 2FA is now enabled and from now on you get a set of recovery codes which Instagram will ask every time you log in especially if you’re not logging in from your phone for some reason.
| [Note: If you want, you can anytime reset the recovery codes of two-factor authentication.] |
Other than this, you can block access to ‘Third Party Apps’ as you probably have given access to plenty of third party apps for various sorts of reasons. Wondering why so? Well, because third-party apps have permissions to like, share, comment and to perform other kind activities in your account. Thus, removing/ uninstalling any available unauthorized apps from your respective mobile or PC to block them from accessing your Instagram account is necessary.
Last but not least, if you log in to your Instagram using Facebook then, you should consider changing it. To be precise, you need to disable the ‘Log in via Facebook’ option to make sure that if someone is successful in accessing your Facebook account then, they still fail to log into your Instagram account.
FAQs Regarding Instagram Login Activity Checking Feature
A1. The answer to this question depends upon you. That means it is all about your privacy, so Instagram has given its user the privilege to choose whether they want to get notification on their registered email ID or not. In the “Privacy Settings” of your account you have to subscribe to the alert on login. So, if there is any unusual activity it will be listed there in your login activity log.
A2. Yes! But, it also depends on your choice. If you want to select a two-factor authentication then, head over to “Privacy Settings” on your Instagram account settings and turn this feature on. Now, every time you or someone else tries to log in, Instagram sends an authentication code to your registered mobile number and that authentication code will be necessary to gain access to your account.
A3. If you find out that someone has hacked your account then, you need not worry about it! There is still a lot that can be done.
- First of all, go to the password reset option of Instagram and reset your Instagram password.
- Secondly, delete any unwanted activity which was done maliciously.
- And, last but not the least, contact the Instagram Help Center for any further action.
Categories: Technology
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
