What to do if an account is hacked

Three situations, three procedures.


Case A — You still have access to the account

Act immediately:

  1. change the password
  2. choose a completely new password
  3. sign out unknown sessions
  4. turn on or reconfigure 2FA
  5. check the email address on file
  6. check the phone number
  7. remove unknown third-party apps
  8. check whether the same old password was used elsewhere

If it was, change it on every other service concerned.

Case B — You have lost access to Instagram

Meta provides a dedicated procedure at instagram.com/hacked. Prefer that official procedure over a link received in a private message or an unexpected email.

Meta also indicates that when an Instagram email address is changed, a security message can let you reverse that change from the address originally on the account.

Case C — Your email address itself was hacked

This is the priority. You must:

  1. recover the mailbox
  2. change its password
  3. turn on its 2FA
  4. check the recovery methods
  5. check automatic forwarding rules if the provider allows it
  6. check the signed-in sessions
  7. then secure the accounts that depend on that address

Every recommendation links back to official documentation.