Opening Instagram just to see that your account has been hacked can cause distress. Luckily there are safety measures set up to protect your intellectual property.
With Instagram profiles across the world being hacked each day, Instagram has decided to update its security measure, thus introducing video selfie verification. The aim of the new account verification mode is to detect fake accounts and digital bots.
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How To Avoid Having Your Social Media Accounts Hacked
One of the first and most important steps to take, is to on all social networking platforms, enable two-factor authentication. By doing this, you have extra security and only the email address and phone number linked to the account can give access.
Never give out your account or page details to anyone who emails or directly messages you, especially if they pretend to be from the network’s customer service. There are so many scammers that direct message users with “business opportunities” only to gain access to their personal information. These accounts are very dangerous and interaction with them should be avoided.
Another way to prevent your account from being hacked is to never click on too-good-to-be-true offers or shady news items, as they can lead to harmful software or malware attacks and this goes along with downloading strange unsolicited apps. When an offer seems too good to be true, it generally is.
Lastly, regularly update your passwords and security settings. Make sure to not use the same, or similar password when updating these settings.
As mentioned above, Instagram has set up a new security protocol to ensure the safety of their users; video selfie verification:
How Does Video Selfie Verification Work
Instagram users are being asked to shoot a brief video selfie ‘to help authenticate that you are in fact a real person,’ according to the social networking platform. This functionality was most likely added to the platform to limit the number of false or spam accounts that are created daily. Instagram owner Meta, previously known as Facebook, says that no biometric data will be collected and that this function will only be used for identity verification. Existing users are not required to go through the video selfie process because identity verification is ideally done when a new user registers on the platform.
In this brief video that is requested by Instagram, users are asked to take a video of themselves tilting their heads in different directions as part of the verification procedure to ensure that they are, in fact, genuine people. Users must submit the video to Meta for confirmation of identity once it has been recorded. This video will never be visible on Instagram and will be erased from the servers after 30 days, according to Meta.
Why Verification Is Important
In today’s business world, social media is a representation of a person or business brand. Therefore, it is important to do everything to ensure that your brand does not become compromised. As mentioned above, there are individuals out there that create social media accounts with the sole purpose of hacking others. Whether it is a personal or business account, having your privacy invaded is a horrible experience. In some instances, users are required to start a whole new account from scratch, which can negatively affect a brand’s image.
Around a billion individuals use Instagram each month, and those with a significant number of followers are more likely to be targeted. Attackers will frequently exploit your account once they have gained control of it to sell fake products, transmit malware, and steal passwords via phishing pages.
Final Thought
For social media networks like Instagram, fake profiles and spam accounts have long been a problem. Instagram’s latest attempt to curb spam accounts on its network is expected to yield positive results. Users are encouraged to take advantage of these security measures.
