10 Ways to Avoid Getting Your Social Media Hacked
A hacked social media account can do more damage than a few embarrassing posts. Someone could contact your customers, run adverts using your payment details or lock you out of a business page you spent years building.
You cannot remove every risk, but you can make your accounts much harder to take over. Most of the practical work comes down to protecting your login details, controlling access and recognising a scam before you act on it. Here are 10 ways to protect yourself, followed by what to do if someone gets in.
1. Use a different password for every account
If your Facebook, email and online shopping accounts share a password, one leaked password puts all three at risk.
Use a password manager to generate and store long, unique passwords. Protect the password manager itself with a strong master password and multifactor authentication. Adding a different number to the end of the same password is not much of an improvement.
2. Turn on two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, adds another check when you log in. A stolen password alone should then be insufficient to access your account.
Use an authenticator app rather than SMS where possible. For stronger protection against fake login pages, use a passkey or security key where supported. CISA explains the benefits of phishing-resistant authentication.
Keep backup codes somewhere secure. Do not approve a login request you did not initiate.
3. Protect the email account behind your social accounts
Your email inbox is often where password reset links arrive. If someone controls that inbox, they may be able to take over other accounts even after you change their passwords.
Give your email account a unique password and strong authentication. Check its recovery details too. For a business, avoid making a departing employee’s email address the only route back into an important account.
4. Treat urgent account warnings carefully
“Your page will be deleted.” “You have violated copyright.” “Verify your account immediately.” These messages are designed to make you react before checking.
Open the platform directly and check its account status or support area. Do not sign in through a link in an unexpected message. A familiar logo, convincing wording or padlock in the browser does not prove that a website belongs to the platform.
5. Never give someone your login or recovery codes
A message from a friend asking you to forward a code could come from someone controlling their account. A person claiming to be support may be trying the same trick.
Only enter codes into the genuine app or website when completing a process you started. Do not send passwords, backup codes or authentication codes through messages, even when the request sounds convincing.
6. Review connected apps
Scheduling tools, reporting platforms and other services may have permission to access your social accounts. Those permissions deserve the same attention as your password.
Remove tools you no longer use and investigate anything unfamiliar. Read permission requests before approving them. A tool that promises followers or account verification should not receive access simply because it offers something attractive.
7. Give staff and agencies their own access
Sharing one password across a team makes it difficult to control who can do what, or remove one person without affecting everyone.
Use the platform’s business roles and permissions where available. Give each person only the access their job requires, and remove it when the relationship ends. Keep a trusted backup administrator where supported, with strong security on both administrators’ accounts.
8. Keep your devices and browsers updated
Malicious software can steal passwords or information that keeps you signed in. That means an attacker may not always need to enter your password again.
Keep your operating system, browser and apps updated. Remove unnecessary browser extensions and avoid cracked software or unexpected downloads. Lock your devices and avoid managing business accounts on shared computers.
9. Pay attention to login alerts
Enable alerts for unfamiliar logins where available and periodically review signed-in devices.
A location mismatch alone does not prove a hack because mobile networks and VPNs can affect location estimates. However, an unfamiliar device combined with changed details or messages you did not send needs immediate attention. Check through the app itself.
10. Prepare for recovery before you need it
Check that your recovery phone number and email address still work. Store backup codes securely, separate from a phone you could lose.
For business accounts, keep a record of account names, page IDs, authorised administrators and relevant ownership documents. Agree on who handles an incident. Discovering that nobody knows who owns the page is a poor starting point during a takeover.
What to do if your social media account gets hacked
Unexpected posts, changed recovery details and messages you did not send are warning signs. Being unable to log in can also indicate a problem, although it does not automatically mean someone has taken over.
Start from a device you trust
If you suspect malware, use another trusted device to begin recovery. Update and scan the affected computer before using it for new passwords. Secure the linked email account, including its recovery details and any unfamiliar forwarding rules.
If you can still access the account
Change the password immediately. Then use the security settings to end other sessions, remove unfamiliar connected apps and check recovery details. Do not assume a password change removes every existing connection.
Review authentication methods and remove anything you did not add. Replace backup codes if they may have been exposed. For business accounts, check administrators, partners and advertising access as well.
If you are locked out
Use the platform’s official recovery process:
Where possible, use a familiar device that is safe to use. Complete identity checks only within the official recovery process. Available options vary, and recovery is not guaranteed. Avoid people who appear in comments promising to “hack your account back”.
Contain the damage
Save evidence of unauthorised activity, then remove scam posts and messages where possible. Warn customers or contacts through a channel you still control. Explain that unexpected payment requests or links should be ignored.
Check advertising campaigns and billing activity. Pause unauthorised campaigns, report them to the platform and contact your bank promptly about suspicious charges. Keep monitoring after access is restored.
For a business, account security needs an owner and a routine. Put access reviews alongside your other marketing maintenance tasks. If you want to review how your website and connected business systems are managed, speak to Interon about a practical review. Account recovery itself must go through the relevant platform.