How To Turn On 2 Factor Authentication For Facebook & Instagram
This important instructional blog is on how to turn on 2 Factor Authentication for your Facebook (FB) & Instagram (IG) accounts because it seems like a new round of hackers are up to no good again & I’d like you to protect your accounts. It’s important to turn on 2 Factor Authentication because it puts an added layer of security on your accounts to prevent hackers from taking over your accounts. Please note: This is for your personal FB page and any IG page you have.
What is 2 factor authentication?
When you turn on 2 factor authentication, It tells FB/IG to send you a text message when someone suspicious tries to log into your account. You can then say that it’s you & enter the verification code to gain access, or you can say it’s not you & stop the hacker from gaining access to your accounts. (When you get a code & it’s you who is trying to log in, you can tell FB/IG to remember your device so you won’t have to enter the verification codes all the time, but it still blocks other people from gaining access to your accounts.)
Besides not being “hacked”, why would I want to turn on 2 factor authentication?
I just had one client who was hacked last week on her personal FB profile. The hacker posted lewd sexual content on her personal page (which FB removed); the hacker removed me from admin on her business page so I could no longer post to the page; reduced my client to “employee” status so she couldn’t make any changes to her business page or reinstate me as admin; created a fake business manager account to take ownership of the business page; and proceeded to try to run up $750 in fake ads, you guessed it, charged to my client’s credit card.
This is not easily fixed!!
We were able to report the page as being hacked (after 3 days because her account was restricted) & FB is currently in review of our report. However, I still cannot post to the business page, nor is my client in control of her own business page yet. Additionally, her ad account is restricted & she has a bill for $750 that is still unresolved. FB works on their own sweet time, so who knows when we can regain control over her business page again.
For Instagram, because there is no admin for business pages, if a hacker gains control of your IG page, they can change your text & email verifications to their phone & email address, leaving you with no way to get back into your IG page. This is why we highly encourage you to turn on 2 factor authentication on IG – it’s perhaps more important than on FB for this reason.
In addition to being time consuming, if you are hacked, you may be required to submit documents to prove you are you & you should be the owner of the page. Examples of documents you’d have to submit: Government ID (driver’s license, state id, passport); business utility bill that has your business name & address on it; articles of incorporation or other similar document that proves you own your business (real estate license, etc.).
So, how do you turn on 2 factor authentication?
I’ve included screenshots of where you need to go/where to click as well as step by step instructions below to turn on 2 factor authentication for both Facebook and Instagram.
How to turn on 2 Factor Authentication for your Facebook (FB) account – Desktop Instructions:
1. To turn on 2 factor authentication, Log into FB on a desktop computer
2. Click your profile picture in the far upper right corner, then click “Settings & Privacy”
3. Click on “Settings”
4. Click on “Security and Login”
5. On the Security and Login page, you’ll see 3 things you need to do:
a) Review the devices where you’re logged into on Facebook to make sure these are YOUR devices. If they are your devices, you’re fine – you have not been hacked. If you’re unsure if these are your devices, click the “See More” in this section and at the bottom you’ll see “Log Out Of All Sessions” – click that. This will log you out of Facebook everywhere – computer, phones, ipads, etc. (including any hackers that are currently logged in as you) – but you’ll need your current FB password to login/change your password, so before you log out, be sure you have your current FB password handy!
b) Change your FB password. Make it something that is entirely different from any other password you use, and be sure it’s a strong password with capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, & special symbols.
c) Turn on 2 Factor authentication & follow the onscreen prompts. This is extremely important because if someone tries to login as you/hack your account, you will get a text notification with a verification code to enter. If it is you logging back into your devices, simply enter the code & save your browser so it’ll remember it’s you next time. If you tell FB to save your browser you will not have to enter another code the next time you log in (however, you’ll have to re-enter another code when you log in on your phone, but after that you’ll be set 🙂)
Now, if you get another text like this, you’ll know someone is trying to hack into your account & now they won’t be able to because they won’t be able to get this code.
6. When you click on 2 Factor Authentication, please also copy your recovery codes in case the text messages don’t work. This way, you’ll still have verification codes to get into your account. Take a screenshot of the codes.
==========================================================================================
Instagram:
Here are some security best practices for Instagram:
Have a strong password that you don’t use anywhere else. If you use the same password, change your IG password today. Be sure to include capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, & symbols.
Turn on 2-Factor authentication so you’ll receive a text & verification code if someone does try to login as you. Without this verification code, the hackers can’t access your page.
Please note: Instagram’s 2-factor authentication is probably even more important than Facebook’s because there are no admins on IG that can help you out, so if someone hacks & takes over your IG account, there’s not much that can be done.
How to turn on 2 Factor Authentication for your Instagram (IG) account – Instructions:
1. Open Instagram app on your phone – log in if necessary.
2. Tap on your picture in the very bottom right corner to be taken to your main IG page
3. Tap on the 3 horizontal lines in the very top right corner to go to your settings (see above screenshot)
4. Click on “Settings”
5. Click on “Security”
6. Click on “Two-Factor Authentication”
7. Click on “Text Message” & follow the onscreen prompts. This works exactly like FB: You’ll receive a text with a verification code to enter; enter that. Once you save your device, you will not be prompted to enter another verification code, but you will receive texts if someone tries to hack into your IG account, & now they can’t because they won’t have this code.
8. After you’ve turned on the text message setting, click “Additional Methods” (see above screenshot)
9. Click on “Backup codes” and screenshot the list of codes on the next screen. This will ensure you have a verification code to log into your IG account if for some reason the text messages aren’t working.
Feel free to pass this blog on to whoever needs it – I just don’t want to see you get hacked & go through this hot mess of Facebook’s “customer service”.
If you are looking for social media management, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
