There are many ways your social media account can be compromised. Accessing malicious third-party apps is one of them. This is how approximately 87 million Facebook users illegally extracted their account information in the notorious Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. We have a tutorial on removing apps from your Facebook account. In this post, we will walk you through different ways to check and remove authorized or unauthorized apps from your Instagram account.
While some of these apps are safe (especially Instagram-owned ones—Boomerang, Layout, etc.), third-party apps that are not affiliated with or supported by Instagram cannot be completely trusted. Even Instagram warns of potential harm that some third-party apps can cause. For example, if your Instagram account is granted access, a (malicious) app can read your direct messages (DMs), get information about your contacts, send content to your page and spam it, etc.
If you have linked certain apps to your Instagram account in the past, that’s fine; You don’t need to beat yourself up about it. You probably were not aware of the security risks that you and your connections are exposed to. Fortunately, you can easily control the apps you have previously authorized to access your Instagram account.
We’ll walk you through the steps in the following paragraphs. Additionally, we will show you how to remove or unlink an app from your Instagram account. Let’s do this, shall we?
You can follow these solutions from your mobile phone and computer. However, since most Instagram users probably access their account from a smartphone, we’ll start with the mobile app. The steps remain the same on Android as they do on iOS versions of the Instagram app.
In Mobile Application
Stage 1: Tap the profile picture in the bottom right corner of your Instagram app to launch the profile menu.
Step 2: Tap the hamburger menu icon to reveal more profile menu options.
Stage 3: Tap Settings.
Step 4: Select Security from the Settings menu.
Step 5: Under the ‘Data and history’ section, tap on ‘Apps and websites’.
Step 6: Tap Enabled.
This will reveal any apps that are currently authorized to access your Instagram account, along with other details like the authorization date.
Step 7: If you see an app that you don’t trust or don’t remember authorizing, tap the Uninstall button to revoke its access.
Step 8: A dialog box will appear on the screen asking you to confirm your action. Tap Remove to confirm your action.
It’s that simple. With this method, you can remove any connected app’s access to your Instagram account. Now let’s check out how you can do the same thing using a web browser.
on PC
Stage 1: Log into your Instagram account from any browser on your computer.
Step 2: On the main page, tap the Profile icon to go to your Instagram profile page.
Stage 3: Tap the gear icon on your account/profile page.
Step 4: Tap ‘Apps & Website’ in the drop-down menu.
This will take you to the Access Management page of your account, where you can see the apps and websites you have authorized access to your Instagram account.
For each app linked to your account, Instagram displays some additional details, such as app information and the date you authorized the app to access your account.
step 5: To remove an authorized app from your Instagram account, simply tap the Uninstall button just below the app.
Step 6: In the confirmation popup, tap Uninstall to continue.
And that’s it. The application will no longer be able to access the new data and information of your Instagram account.
Note: If you remove an app from your Instagram account, it may still have access to some (old) information you previously shared while your account was authorized.
Additional Tips
- If you suspect an app is selling/hiding/stealing your account information, we recommend revoking the app’s access to your Instagram account and continuing to delete your account on the app’s website or within the app.
- If you accidentally removed an app from your Instagram account, you can reauthorize the app. Simply launch the app on your phone or visit the app’s website in a browser, sign in to Instagram or select ‘Sign In with Instagram’, enter your Instagram account information and authorize the app.
Take Control of Your Account
Before you authorize an app to your Instagram account, read all the information the app requests access to. If you haven’t reviewed the app requirements and permissions, it’s not too late. Follow the steps listed above to check authorized app details and remove unauthorized or untrusted apps. As an added layer of security, we also recommend that you change your Instagram password after removing an app from your account. To be sure.
Next: Extending Instagram security even further, learn how to see devices linked to your Instagram account and remove unauthorized devices in the article linked below.