Instagram and Facebook privacy basics for Android users
Make your Instagram private, limit who can message you, tidy Facebook audience settings and turn on login alerts to reduce hacking and fake profiles.
Fake profiles, sextortion and hacked accounts often start with a public Instagram or Facebook page. A few settings reduce what strangers can see and who can contact you. The exact menu wording changes with app updates, so use the search box in each app. Menu names differ slightly on Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Realme and OnePlus phones.
Steps
- Make Instagram private. In Instagram tap your profile picture, then the menu at the top right, then Settings and privacy, and search for Account privacy. Turn on Private account so only approved followers see your posts.
- Control messages and tags. In the same settings search for Messages and story replies, Tags and mentions. Limit who can message you to people you follow. Review and remove tags from strangers.
- Run Facebook Privacy checkup. In Facebook open the menu, then Settings and privacy, then Settings, and search for Privacy checkup. Follow it to set who sees your posts, friends list, phone number and profile details.
- Turn on login security. On both apps search for Security and login or Password and security. Turn on two-factor authentication and login alerts. Review Where you are logged in and log out unknown devices.
- Clean up old content. Search for Limit past posts or review old public photos. Remove personal details such as your phone number, school or workplace from profiles. Block and report unknown requests and fake lookalikes.
Menu names differ a little between phone makers and Android versions. If you cannot find a setting, open Settings and use the search box.
Why it matters
Scammers copy photos from public profiles to build fake accounts and ask your friends for money. Others use a stranger's friendly chat to start romance, job or extortion scams. A private account and a short friends list, plus two-step login, makes you much harder to impersonate and to hack, and it costs nothing but a few minutes.
Watch out for
- A stranger asking to move the chat to another app quickly is a red flag.
- Never share intimate photos with someone you have not met.
- A message saying your account will be disabled and asking for a login is phishing.
- A friend asking for urgent money from a new account should be verified by a call.
How Safeavio helps
Safeavio's Scam check and Link check let you paste or share a suspicious DM or link and get plain reasons. Money Shield offers a Verify before you pay checklist and a family code word. It does not manage your social accounts or read your direct messages on its own.
Check it before you tap or pay
Safeavio Sentinel is a made-in-India Android app: paste a message or link, or scan a QR code, and get a plain verdict with the reasons. It helps you spot a scam; it does not promise to stop every one.
Download for AndroidWhat the app does
Google Play listing: coming soon. Today the signed APK is on safeavio.com/download. Android 7.0 or later.
Questions
My Instagram was hacked, what first?
Use the login help in the app, reset the password from the official page, log out other devices and turn on two-factor authentication. Warn friends that messages from you may be fake.
What is sextortion?
It is when someone threatens to share private photos unless you pay. Do not pay. Stop contact, keep screenshots, report the account and use cybercrime.gov.in or 1930 for help.