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TechEngage » Security & Privacy

Instagram’s security breach is up next after Facebook

News

Avatar for Areen Zahra Areen Zahra Follow Areen Zahra on X Published: Nov 18, 2018 · 3:07 PM ET

Instagram security breach
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After Facebook made headlines, now, its Instagram’s turn to disappoint. If you have received notification from Instagram, then you are among the few who might have been affected by this security breach. Instagram experienced a serious security breach where a lot of users had their passwords exposed. This Instagram security issue is associated with the feature that allows users to download their data. The bug associated with Instagram makes passwords visible in URL as plain text, soon after a user requests for the media download. These passwords were also kept at Facebook servers for some reasons. The feature was introduced to let people keep track of their data that Instagram has kept. The feature is available with “Download your data” option, which lets users get a copy of all their data. This feature was created to abide by the UK’s Data Protection Bill. Once you head up for the action to be performed, Instagram asks you to enter your password, and then you can see this message on your screens,
“We’ve started creating a file of things you have shared on Instagram and will email a link to [your email address]. It may take up to 48 hours to collect this data and send it to you.”
Recently the very link that Instagram shares exposed the users’ password. Reportedly, Facebook made a notification to all Instagram users about the bug. Also, Instagram clarified that the bug affected only some of the users. Whereas, the chance that their information has been leaked is only there if the user is using a shared computer or a compromised network. Only the users who received notification from Instagram were affected. So you do not have to panic if you haven’t received one. According to Facebook, the issue has been resolved soon after the tool was updated. If you have been affected by this and received a notification from Instagram already, then here are a few handy tips to protect your account from being exploited. You can turn on your two-factor authentication to protect your account. Stay tuned for more updates.

Related reading

  • Google pulls down several apps from Play Store for stealing Facebook data
  • Somehow Facebook continues to grow, despite constant scandal
  • Facebook to pay a $644,000 fine for data breach
Something incorrect? Report an error in this article. Include a source if you have one; your name and email are optional.

Filed Under: Security & Privacy, Tech News & Analysis Tagged With: Data breach, Facebook, Instagram, News

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Avatar for Areen Zahra

Areen Zahra

Auto & AI Reporter

Areen Zahra is an Auto and AI Reporter at TechEngage who writes about automotive technology, artificial intelligence, apps, and social media. An IT professional by training, she covers how software and machine intelligence are reshaping transportation and daily life across more than 130 articles.

Joined TechEngage September 2018First article on TechEngage September 2018

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  1. Avatar for SandySandy says

    December 21, 2018

    Great post! I am actually getting ready to go across, this post is very informative.

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