How to Recover a Hacked Instagram Account (Step by Step)

To recover a hacked Instagram account, go to instagram.com/hacked in a phone or computer browser and follow the on-screen steps; if your email or phone number still works, tap Forgot password? on the login screen and use the login link Instagram sends. If the hacker changed your email, phone and password, request support from the app on a phone, give an email address only you can open, and complete the identity check, which for most personal accounts is a short video selfie.

Checked October 2026 against Instagram's Help Center on what to do if your profile has been hacked, Hacked Instagram Account, a changed account email, lost access to your email or phone, unauthorized content and phishing, and Meta's account support update (December 2025, updated March 2026).

Speed matters more than anything else here. Every hour the hacker holds the account, they can change another detail, message your followers or get the account disabled. Work through the scenario that matches what you see, in order, and do not skip the lock-down at the end. If your problem is a restriction or a ban rather than a stranger in your account, start at our Instagram account help hub instead.

Instagram hacked account recovery: find your scenario

The route depends on what the hacker changed. Open your email first, then try to log in, then use this table.

Scenario 1: the hacker changed your email

Undo it from the old inbox. When the email on a profile changes, Instagram sends two messages: one to the original address to deny the change and one to the new address to allow it. Instagram says that if you got an email from security@mail.instagram.com about the change, selecting secure my account may reverse it.

Search the inbox and the spam folder for "instagram". If the hacker also changed the password and the undo link no longer gets you in, request a login link or a security code as in the next two sections. If you cannot open the original inbox either, recover it with your email provider first: Instagram's lost access page points you to the provider, because the rest of the process happens by email.

Scenario 2: the password changed, your email or phone still works

Use the login link. This is the fastest fix, and it works whenever Instagram can still reach you.

1. On the Instagram login screen, tap Forgot password?
2. Enter the username, email address or phone number on the account and choose Send login link.
3. Complete the captcha and tap Next.
4. Open the link in your email or text message and follow the on-screen steps to set a new password.

If you no longer have the username, email or phone, Instagram sends you to instagram.com/hacked instead.

Someone took over my Instagram and changed everything

This is the full recovery: instagram.com/hacked, a support request from a phone, then an identity check. It is slower, but it is the route built for an account where none of the contact details are yours any more.

The video selfie is the check most people worry about. Instagram says it uses the video only to confirm that you are a real person and the owner, that it never appears on Instagram, and that it is deleted within 30 days. Meta's December 2025 update made selfie video an optional verification step inside the recovery flows, alongside recovery options that adapt to your situation and better recognition of your usual devices and locations.

You will also see a Meta AI support assistant in the app and the desktop Help Center. Meta says it can take actions such as resetting passwords, but its login help started with select cases in the US and Canada, so outside those countries expect the standard flow above.

The hacker turned on two-factor authentication

A backup code is the only shortcut. If you saved backup codes before the hack, enter one at the code prompt and you are in. Without one, the codes now go to the hacker's phone or authenticator app, so the code screen is a dead end.

Instagram's Help Center has no separate article for this case, so use the fully-locked-out sequence above: instagram.com/hacked, the support request and the identity check. Once you are back in, open Accounts Center (or Meta Account settings, depending on which one your app shows), go to Password and security, and replace the hacker's two-factor method with your own. Our two-factor authentication guide walks through the authenticator app setup and where your new backup codes live.

After recovery: the lock-down checklist

Instagram lists the same set of steps for anyone who has been hacked and can log in. Do them in this order, because changing the password first logs every device out, including the hacker's.

If the account keeps posting things you did not write, Instagram's unauthorized content page says your password has probably been compromised and repeats the same steps. It also notes you may see a "Try again later" error while it detects inauthentic activity on the account. Meta also says passkeys now work on Instagram through the Meta Account, which removes the password from the login altogether if your phone supports them.

Recovery scams to avoid while you are locked out

A hacked account attracts a second wave of scammers. They watch for posts like "my Instagram got hacked" and reply with a "recovery expert" or a support number.

• No phone line. Meta says it has no general public phone number for customer service and that numbers claiming to be Meta support are potentially scams.
• No DMs from Instagram. Instagram's phishing guidance says it will never send you direct messages about your account in the app.
• Check the sender. Genuine security mail comes from addresses such as @mail.instagram.com. Forward suspicious mail to phish@instagram.com and do not click it.
• No paid recovery. Nobody outside Meta can submit a better request than the owner. Paying a stranger usually costs the money and hands them another login.

Our map of every real Instagram support channel lists which contact routes exist and which are fake.

Paid support does exist, but only for subscribers. Meta Verified support offers email and in-app chat to verified subscribers and lists account access and security issues among what it covers. You cannot buy it from inside a hacked account, so it only helps if you subscribed before. Our guide to getting verified on Instagram covers what the subscription includes. For DM scams aimed at creators, read Instagram brand deal scams.

If the account was disabled while the hacker had it

A hacker can get your account disabled by spamming from it. If you log in and see a disabled notice rather than a password error, the hacked flow is no longer the right one. Use the review offered on that notice, as explained in how to recover a disabled Instagram account, and use our appeal form guide for the wording. Mention in the appeal that the account was compromised, the date it happened and what you have since secured.

Once the account is yours again and locked down, the work is getting reach back without the shortcuts that put accounts at risk. Our Instagram Ignited program covers profile setup, Reels and reading Insights, including why growth apps that ask for your password are a risk.

Hacked Instagram account recovery: FAQ