Instagram users may have experienced the new way to login to their photo-sharing accounts. In fact, the news that a two-factor authentication has been implemented was only confirmed by the Facebook-owned company after users started to notice the change.
In order to access your Instagram account, you would now need to feed in your user-id and password, as well as a confirmation code you will be sent on the mobile number registered on the account.
Instagram’s parent company, ‘Facebook’ has had the two-factor authentication system in place for about 4 years. With over 400 million users on Instagram, and a flurry of images and data that could be stolen, the new login is a rich feature for its users. There have been stories in the past where celebrity accounts have been hacked and the damage caused has cost them both money and their fan following. You also don’t need to be a celebrity in order to want privacy when it comes to sharing photographs of yourself.
The two-factor authentication system ensures the second layer of the login is not victim to second guessing, like your textual or numerical password can be, and will only come to your mobile phone, which assumedly will not be accessible to anyone with malicious intent. If your text messages can be read freely on your lock screen, we suggest you disable notifications for messages under settings on your phone, just in case someone is able to view your confirmation code.
In the last month, Instagram also added a feature where its users would be able to count the number of views to their movies, prior to which the company allowed its customers to sign-in to multiple accounts through the application. With the extra added layer of security to your Instagram accounts, you can feel more at ease the next time you decide you upload your images onto the Internet.