Instagram developers introduced a mechanism that will help users of the service determine the authenticity of emails received on behalf of a social network. Instagram developed a mechanism to combat phishing.
According to the creators, the new mechanism will reduce the number of people caught by the phishers who send messages with malicious links.“Bad actors are getting better at imitating emails from Instagram, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to distinguish between a genuine email and a fake one,” – said an Instagram representative in a statement.
In addition, a tab displaying the activity of friends disappeared from the application.
She was replaced by a section of the menu “Security”. It stores letters that service employees sent to the user over the past 14 days. Now, having received a suspicious email from Instagram, the subscriber will be able to verify its authenticity by checking the list in the application settings. In one of the tabs of the section, messages on the topic of security are collected, and in the other, all the rest.
“Users shouldn’t click on a link in an email that appears to be from the company if they can’t verify the social network sent it to them. Instagram also outlines steps on its site you can take to secure your account if you believe it’s been hacked. That includes requesting a login link, reverting an email change and reporting the account”, — claim in Instagram.
As for the “Subscriptions” tab, it has disappeared from the next release of the application. In this section, you could see the actions of users who have signed up for the account owner. As the developers explained, the function was conceived as a tool to expand the circle of friends of new customers of the social network. Now this role is fulfilled by the recommendations appearing in the search menu.
Read also: Researchers found that employees’ errors are the main cause of cybersecurity incidents and problems
According to the creators of the application, “Subscriptions” violate the privacy of Instagram clients. Most users of the social network did not think about the fact that subscribers could watch their actions, and unwittingly opened information about their preferences, hobbies and acquaintances. Therefore, employers could learn from this section about employee interactions with competitor accounts, and people who are in a relationship can learn about the partner’s excessive attention to others.
Representatives of Instagram announced plans to unsubscribe from the “Subscriptions” tab in August, but most users saw the changes only this week.
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