Being a popular photo-sharing platform, Instagram stores plenty of personal data. For instance, my account has photos from 2013 – my college days! Hence, it is crucial to keep it secure, and one way to ensure this is by changing the Instagram password frequently.
Alternatively, if you believe your account has been compromised in a password breach, or you’ve forgotten your existing Instagram password, here is how you can change or reset it on your iPhone, Android, or desktop.
Before we begin: Make sure not to use a weak, easily guessable password. Always use a combination of at least six numbers, letters, punctuation symbols, etc. You can also let the iCloud Keychain or a third-party password manager suggest a long, complicated password.
- How to change your Instagram password on iPhone or Android
- How to change your Instagram password using the desktop website
- Reset your Instagram password on iPhone and Android
- How to reset your Instagram password using the desktop website
- Turn on two-factor authentication on Instagram
How to change your Instagram password on iPhone or Android
- Open the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap the hamburger icon (three short lines) at the top right.
- Tap Settings → Security → Password.
- Enter your current password and then the new strong password.
- Finally, tap Save.
How to change your Instagram password using the desktop website
- Visit Instagram.com on your Mac or PC and login if needed.
- Go to your profile and click the gear icon next to Edit Profile.
- Click Change Password.
- Enter your current (old) password and the new password you wish to set.
- Finally, click Change Password.
Reset your Instagram password on iPhone and Android
If you have forgotten your Instagram password, you can easily reset it by following the steps below.
- Open the Instagram app. (If you are already logged in, go to your profile → hamburger icon → Settings → Log out)
- Tap Forgot password?.
- Enter your username or phone number and proceed.
- Instagram will send you an email or text to your registered email address or phone number.
- From the email, you can directly log in to Instagram or reset your Instagram password.
How to reset your Instagram password using the desktop website
- Visit Instagram’s Reset Password page.
- Enter your email, phone, or username to get the login link.
- Follow the received instructions to log in or reset your password.
Alternatively:
- If you are already logged in to Instagram on the web, click your profile picture from the top.
- Click Settings → Change Password.
- Click Forgot Password → Send Login Link.
- Follow the instructions sent to you in the email.
In the steps above, we saw how to change or reset the Instagram password. But to make it extra secure, you must enable two-factor authentication. This will ensure that even if someone knows your password or retrieve it from a data breach, they cannot log in to your Instagram account without the 2-factor verification code.
We have multiple posts showing you how to enable 2FA for your Apple ID, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Google account, etc. In this post, let us cover Instagram as well.
Turn on two-factor authentication on Instagram
Before you begin: Download the Google Authenticator or one of the similar authenticator apps.
- Open Instagram, go to your profile, and tap the hamburger icon at the top right.
- Tap Settings → Security → Two-factor authentication → Get Started.
- From here, you can choose to get the 2FA code from an authenticator app (this works even offline) or via text message. Let us choose the ‘Authentication app.’
- Tap Next → Open → Yes. (this may vary if you use some other authenticator app)
- Now, tap the six-digit Instagram code to copy it.
- Go back to Instagram and paste/enter the code here.
- Tap Next to successfully set up 2FA for your Insta account!
- Important: Do not forget to save your backup codes somewhere else. These will come in handy if you lose your device or cannot access the authenticator app.
After this, you may follow the same steps to enable 2FA using text messages to have an additional method of verification.
You can also set Instagram two-factor authentication via computer. For this, click your profile picture → Settings → Privacy and Security → Edit Two-Factor Authentication Setting. Now, click Use Text Message and enable 2FA (the authentication app option is currently unsupported on the web).
Once 2FA is set, you will have to enter this one-time code every time you log in to Instagram from a new, untrusted device.
This is how you can change, reset, and strengthen your Instagram account. I hope you have a good time using this photo/video-sharing app. While you are there, search for iGeeksBlog to see what we are up to. Cheers!
More helpful posts:
- How to use Instagram Remix Reels on iPhone
- Stop Instagram auto-refresh on iPhone
- Why there’s no native Instagram app for iPad?
- How to use password authenticator on iPhone
A tech-aficionado whose superpower lies in blabbering interminably about new technologies. After 4+ years and 4500+ content pieces that helped diverse companies grow, I followed my passion and made iGeeks Media my home. When not gushing over technology, you will find me immersed in a fictional world, either reading or creating one.
So I guess theres literally no way to change your password if you dont know your old one… Considering the only thing you receive by email is a login link. Not the ability to change your password… What the actual heck?
when you receive the login link in your email, it will direct you to set a new password without needing your old one.
This is outdated info as of Feb 21, 2022 , since using IOS 15.1 on my iPhone, there is no link to select “Forget Password” once you are in the screen where in order to reset a new one, you must first enter the old one.
Hello,
All the steps work perfectly.
I think you’re mistaken between the two tutorials mentioned in the article.
1. When you know the current password, go to Instagram Settings → Security → Password and change the password.
2. However, if you have forgotten the password, go to Settings → Logout, and after that, tap Forgot password on the login screen.