What to do when Instagram goes rogue... 😵

It all started on Sunday when I noticed the Instagram app crashed every time I opened it. 😫

Then, on Monday, I opened the app and was greeted with this panic-inducing message:

I was then prompted to put in my email address to receive a 6-digit code and then another notification asking for my phone number to receive another 6-digit code to log in to my account.

I did both those things (stupidly, in hindsight) and then was greeted with just a blank screen and the panic that my account had just been hijacked by hackers (even though I have two-factor authentication turned on).

My colleague searched my account and it couldn't be found. *poof* GONE!

Like many, I rely heavily on Instagram to market my business and the thought that 7 years of hard work had just *vanished* was terrifying.

Fortunately, within a few hours my account was back as Instagram rectified the situation. But I was also seeing reports of people losing followers by the bucketload.

*WHAT WAS HAPPENING?!*

I don't know but...

It served as a valuable reminder of these 5 things:

👉 Make sure you have your two-factor authentication turned on across ALL your social media platforms (and WhatsApp) for added security

👉 Don't act too fast when you see a message like this. Stop, think and don't do anything at first. ESPECIALLY if you get an email asking you to click a link or put in a code or hand over information. When things like this happen, we often panic and jeopardise our accounts by acting in haste.

👉 If you receive a DM or an email from the 'platform', first verify the email address it is coming from (Google it to see if it is legitimate or check your Instagram security to see if it's listed as an email they sent). Don't click on ANY links before verifying the source. Hackers can also send links from friends/family accounts so, when in doubt, don't click on them and make sure you have two-factor authentication set up.

👉 When Instagram goes down? Check Twitter! 🐥 Whenever I'm not sure if it's just happening to me or a global issue, Twitter is often my go-to. When I searched the #instagram hashtag on Twitter, I quickly saw that this was a global issue (which made me feel a bit better!)

👉 Don't just rely on social media platforms for your marketing. As we saw yesterday, anything can happen and it can all be taken away in an instant. Diversify your marketing and build an email list that you own!

I'm not sure what happened over at Instagram on Monday - perhaps a bot purge that went wrong or a hack, but either way, it serves as a reminder to get our security in place and have a back-up plan if we ever lose our accounts.

Stay safe out there.

PS - did I mention you MUST have two-factor authentication turned on? Do it now.