Instagram’s New Cyber Security Tool

Mobile giant Instagram has produced a new feature to its app to assist users to confirm if an email was sent by the Facebook company or if it’s an attempted phishing scam attack. Furthermore if you receive an email claiming to be from Instagram, you can check if it’s real by heading over to the “Emails from Instagram” option in the app’s Security mode settings, which lists every email the service has sent you over the last 14 days. The update is rolling out now and may take time to appear in your settings.

This nifty new menu divides your Instagram emails into two categories; security emails and “other.” If you see an email in there then you can be sure it’s legitimate, and you can safely click any links it contains. If it’s not, then it could be a phishing scam, whereby someone impersonates a service to trick you into giving them your username and password. In this case, you should probably delete the offending email. If the worst happens and your account gets compromised, then Instagram says you should follow the instructions listed on

This is a most welcome addition to the Instagram app suite, especially when phishing scams have become more widespread and advanced. Various phishing scams can even break into accounts that use two-factor authentication using a fake site that asks for your six-digit code and immediately enters that into the real site on behalf of the scammer. Reply All did a great episode on this a couple of years ago if you’re interested in learning more. It’s still a wise idea to enable two-factor authentication when available, although you’ll still have to exercise the upmost caution with your online accounts.