There might be a very few Android or iOS users who haven’t ever used Instagram. It has over half a billion active users across the globe. Unfortunately, 80% of the users take the security issues related to social networking sites very casually. So here’s why you should be concerned about such risks:

• Avoid Getting Personal Information Stolen: Your personal information on Instagram is very vulnerable to getting stolen if it isn’t hidden, which is why you must shield your account.
• Avoid Phishing Attacks: Scammers can get your unguarded Instagram account very easily, and then use this information for later targeted phishing attacks.
• Avoid Pictures from Getting Stolen: There are various third party apps that lets someone download the pictures from your account, and use it for various purposes. If your account isn’t set to private, your pictures are more vulnerable to get stolen.

Now that you know why should you have a secure Instagram account, you must be wondering how would you do it, right? So, here are some simple tips:

• Ensure that your primary account is secure: The easiest way for a hacker to hack into someone’s account is through their primary email account, because almost everything is linked up with this account. So make sure you keep the password strong, and use 2-factor authenticator to be extra safe.
• Avoid third party apps: The third party apps that want access to your Instagram can get your personal information, thus avoid them.
• Keep personal information private: The personal information on your instagram is visible to everyone, by default. Keep it private so that only people following you can see them. And give the follow grant to only those who know you.
• Don’t reveal your location: You can smartly stay out of troubles by turning off the location feature. Also don’t upload pictures that reveal your location. You can also turn on “manually approve photo tagging” to stay out of trouble.

The web is a potentially dangerous place, and hence you should walk every step very prudently. Avoid careless mistakes, and be safe!