Can You Check Someone Else’s Instagram DMs?

Once again, it’s reader question time on TechJunkie, and today the topic is privacy on Instagram. This week’s questions are ‘Can you check someone else’s Instagram DMs? Can you hack into someone’s account without them knowing? Someone knows what I’m sending and they shouldn’t know because we didn’t tell them.’

While this is a fairly specific set of questions, it relates to many of the questions we see regarding privacy and security on social media. This is my pet hobby so I was tasked with this answer. Since most of us use Instagram, the thought that our activities on the network could be exposed or seen by someone who doesn’t want to see it is unpleasant.

Can Others View My Instagram DMs?

Instagram accounts are relatively safe as long as you use a good password and maintain good security habits. There are many apps and websites that claim they can hack someone’s Instagram account, but they rarely really work – and when they do, it’s both illegal and costly. I highly recommend it to anyone who installs apps from shady websites that offer to hack their Instagram account because you don’t know what you have installed on your phone!

Instagram doesn’t have a mechanism to check someone else’s DMs. As the Direct Message name suggests, the entire system is designed to be private, direct, and person-to-person. In rare cases, Instagram administrators may look into DMs and turn them over to the authorities, but this rarely happens unless you knowingly and willfully conspired to break federal law through the platform.

If someone becomes aware of DMs between you and someone else, there are really only two ways: either the recipient of that DM willfully told them, or your account has been hacked. While there isn’t much you can do about the first, aside from choosing better people to DM, the second is easily resolved.

How Do I Know Who Viewed My DMs?

If someone has definitely gone through your DMs, your Instagram account has probably been hacked. The person reading the DMs somehow got hold of your login email and password and gained access to your account. To verify that someone has logged into your account, you can check who has accessed your account on the website.

1. Log into Instagram using a web browser.
   
2. Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner to go to your profile.
   
3. Click the cog wheel next to your username and the Edit Profile button to access the settings.
   
4. Click “Login Activity” in the list that appears.
   
5. A list of recent logins will open showing the time, location and platform you logged into your account with.

Look at the recent entries and verify that you know each one. If you don’t know one or more, someone may be using your account without your knowledge, and it’s time to take steps to secure your account from malicious access. Start by clicking on the unauthorized logins and clicking the “Sign Out” button.

Keep Your Instagram Account Safe

It’s easy to secure your Instagram account. All you have to do is change your password and enable two-factor authentication (2FA). If someone has access to your password, you probably haven’t enabled 2FA – otherwise you’ll be notified immediately when someone tries to log in.

1. Log in to Instagram and go to the password change page.
   
2. Enter your current password in the upper box and a new, stronger password twice in the lower boxes.
3. Click Change Password to save your new password making sure to write it down in a safe place.
4. Log out of Instagram and log back in using your new password.

Choose a strong password or passphrase. Make it as complex as possible while keeping it memorable. If you can never think of good passwords, use a password manager – an extension or app that takes care of your passwords, creates secure passwords, automatically adds them to logins, and lets you know if their passwords have been breached.

Changing your password prevents malicious people from logging into your account for now, but enabling 2FA can seriously improve your account security. It’s not a magic bullet that will stop every possible hack, but it will prevent people from getting into your account without intercepting your text messages.

Enable Text-Based Two-Factor Authentication

Text-based two-factor authentication is a very simple system. You log into Instagram as you normally would, and then receive a code via SMS to confirm it’s really you. This is an extra step that can take some extra time, but it does mean that any attacker would need access to your text messages and password to successfully log in.

1. Log into Instagram using a web browser.
2. Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner to go to your profile.
   
3. Click the cog wheel next to your username and the Edit Profile button to access the settings.
   
4. Click “Login Activity” in the list that appears.
   
5. Select Privacy and Security.
   
6. Scroll down and select ‘Edit Two-Factor Authentication Setting’.
   
7. Select “Use Text Message”, then select “Open”.
   
8. Enter your phone number and confirm with the security code sent to you to enable 2FA.

From now on, your phone will always be with you to enter the security code when logging into Instagram. Since most of us already use our phones to access Instagram, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Knowing that someone else is hacking into our social media accounts or viewing our private conversations is not a comfortable feeling at all. You have control over the apps you use and you can take steps to secure your accounts, but managing the people you choose to associate with is a whole different story!