Instagram Hacked and Email Changed: How to Get It Back
When a hacker changes your email, you lose the usual reset route. Instagram has a separate recovery path, and speed matters.
By Siddharth ShankarUpdated October 18, 2026Check your original email inbox for a message from Instagram about the email change. It usually includes a link to undo the change and secure your account. If that does not work, go to instagram.com/hacked or choose Need more help on the login screen and follow the steps, which may include identity verification. Once you are back in, change your password, turn on two-factor authentication and remove unknown devices.
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Hackers who take over an Instagram account usually change the email and phone number first, so that password resets go to them. Many people then assume the account is lost. It often is not, if you act quickly.
Step 1: Check your original email
Instagram’s Help Center has a page on what to do if your Instagram email was changed. When the email address on an account changes, Instagram sends a message to the old address. Look in your inbox, spam and promotions folders for an email from Instagram about the change. Use the option in that message to undo the change and secure your account.
Step 2: Use the hacked account page
If the email link does not work, go to Instagram’s hacked account help or open the app, tap Forgot password or Need more help on the login screen, and choose the option for a hacked account. Follow the prompts.
Instagram may ask you to confirm your identity. Depending on the account, this can include a login link to your phone or old email, or a video selfie for accounts with photos of you.
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Step 3: Lock it down once you are back in
1Change your password
Use a long, unique password you do not use anywhere else.
2Check your email and phone
Make sure only your details are on the account.
3Turn on two-factor authentication
Use an authentication app rather than text messages if you can.
4Remove unknown logins
Review login activity and log out devices you do not recognise.
5Remove connected apps
Revoke access for third-party apps you do not use.
6Delete anything the hacker posted
Warn followers if the hacker sent scam messages.
Secure your email first if it was hacked
If the hacker got into your email account, recovering Instagram will not last. Secure the email account first, change its password, check its recovery settings and sign out other devices. See how to sign out of Google on all devices.
How accounts usually get taken over
- A reused password leaked in another breach. See credential stuffing.
- A fake login page or a fake copyright or verification message.
- A friend’s hacked account asking you for a code.
Check whether your email has appeared in known breaches using the free tool on this page.
Spotting fake recovery offers
After posting about a hacked account, people often get messages from “recovery experts” who promise to get it back for a fee. These are almost always scams. Instagram recovery is free and only happens through Instagram itself.
Protect your other accounts too
If the hacker got your Instagram password, they may try it on your email, Facebook and other apps. Change the password anywhere you used the same one, and turn on two-factor authentication on your email first, because email is the key to resetting everything else.
If you cannot recover the account
Report the account so it cannot keep scamming your followers, and ask friends to report it too. Create a new account if needed, and tell your followers which account is real. For fake copies of your profile, see how to report an impostor account, which covers similar steps on Facebook.
Sources
- Instagram Help Center: If the email on your account was changed (email change recovery)
- Instagram Help Center: Hacked Instagram account (hacked account recovery)
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover Instagram if the hacker changed my email?
Often, yes. Check your old email for Instagram’s message about the change, or use the hacked account recovery in the app.
What is the Instagram video selfie check?
A way to confirm your identity for accounts that include photos of you, used in some recovery cases.
How did my account get hacked?
Common causes are reused passwords from other breaches, fake login pages and code-sharing scams.
Should I make a new account?
Try recovery first. If it fails, report the hacked account and tell followers which account is real.
How do I stop it happening again?
Use a unique password, turn on two-factor authentication with an app and never share login codes.
See if your email has already leaked
- Checks your email against known data breaches
- Shows which sites leaked it, when, and what leaked
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Change reused and leaked passwords
NordPass flags weak and reused passwords, and its Premium plan alerts you if your details appear in new breaches.
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