Instagram Login Activity Shows the Wrong Location or Device, Is my Account Hacked?

Ever woke up to an Instagram login notification showing unknown login into your account and the wrong location? If yes, then you should take notice, as your Instagram account might have been breached. Social media accounts are one of the important places from where anyone can get a deep insight into your life because you share your personal data there.

Hackers have also become powerful and they can hack into your social media accounts and get hold of your private data, including videos, messages, photos that you shared using those accounts.

Such red flags are raised only if a login attempt is made from different geo-locations. If you have also come across such a situation, then this post is for you. In this post, we will talk about the reasons Instagram login activity shows different login locations, and whether or not your Instagram account is actually hacked. With that being said, let us jump straight into the article.

How To Check Instagram Login Activity?

You can see several reports on the internet stating that the Instagram login activity is showing different locations. Notably, the Instagram Login Activity feature has been introduced by the social media platform for users to let them monitor their active Instagram sessions.

With this dedicated space, you can know all of your active sessions along with the location of access. Moreover, you can also delete active sessions on Instagram. The location specifically helps you understand any hacking or wrongdoings currently going on with your account. In order to check your login activity, follow the steps below:

1. Open your Instagram profile.
2. Tap on the 3-line hamburger icon on the top-right side of the profile page.
   
3. Head to the Instagram Settings menu.
   
4. Now under Settings, select a Security option.
   
5. Click on the Login activity section.
   
6. It will show you all the locations from where your account has been accessed and your currently active login sessions.
   

Is My Instagram Account Hacked?

Lets see some respects regarding the login activity data before directly jumping on to conclusion

If Location is Wrong

If you see your active location to any nearest city, it is absolutely fine. The insta severs connect with the best base servers which may be a city or a region which is not your present location or any other nearest city within country. It is very fine and your account is safe.

If you see a location outside your country or device which you never used to login then your account may be compromised. But these is not always true. If you have used any VPN service then the location may be changed to some other region based on the server your VPN connected to. Check if the device is same as you use, if it’s same then your device may have connected to a proxy server which is pretty much fine and nothing to worry about.

If Device is Wrong

This is an alarming bell, if you see any other device which you have never used to login, then your account may be hacked. Also, if you see any surge in followers or drastic change in your profile activity then your account may have been under attack.

Do You Need To Worry?

Well, the answer is you should definitely pay attention to this matter. But not all the time this issue is that serious. It can also be a bug present with the login activity feature of Instagram. There are several reports on Reddit which explain this login activity feature shows the wrong location. I can also confirm such reports because as per the above screenshots, the location of my login activity is showing Bhopal, which is not accurate.

Now the question arises how Instagram is showing such wrong locations? Since, it is an app, and owned by Facebook, it might be showing you the location it was able to gather based on your search results done of your web browser, other related apps, etc. Besides, if you use a VPN (Virtual Proxy Network) for, you know, opening those shady or blocked websites, Instagram may pick up the location of the connected region.

But you should take suspicious activities lightly, and if you come across such wrong location issues, here are a few steps you can take to protect your Instagram account.

Logout other devices

If you see multiple sessions currently active in your Instagram Login activity page, then you should logout of all the sessions that you do not have knowledge of.

1. For that, you simply need to head to the Login activity page.
2. Click on the 3-dot icon next to the location that does not belong to you.
3. After the location opens, press the Log Out button at the bottom of the page.
   

Change the password

Probably, the first thing that you need to do is quickly change your password. If you detect any unusual activity then, you should first of all log out of all the devices, and change the password of your Instagram account.

1. Log in to your Instagram.
2. Head over to Settings.
   
3. Tap on Security.
   
4. Now click on Password.
   
5. Enter your existing password and set a new password.
6. Save the changes and click on Change Password.
   

Enable 2-factor authentication

Enabling 2-factor authentication enables an extra layer of security. It secures your account and notifies you in case there is a suspicious attempt to login into your account.

1. Log in to your Instagram account.
2. Head over to Settings.
3. Then go to Security.
4. Here, you will see Two-factor authentication.
   
5. You will be shown two options to chose your security method, i.e. Authentication App, Text Message.
   
6. Tap on the Text Message option and enter your phone number.
7. This will enable 2FA on your account and will ask for a code every time you log in.
8. You will be shared a list of security codes, that you need to keep securely with you. You can make use of these recovery codes in case you lose access to your phone.

Wrapping Up!

Social media accounts should be used responsibly and one should not give out all the granular details about them on such platforms as they are easily hackable and can turn your life into a nightmare if the data gets in the wrong hands. Make sure that you provide as minimum personal information on such platforms and take necessary precautions for safeguarding your account. For more such awesome coverage, you can follow our DigitBin YouTube channel. Until the next post…Cheers!