Had an unprompted email from Instagram asking for a password reset recently? I didn’t, but recently, millions have. What is interesting, however, is that some believe this is due to Meta being breached, meanwhile Meta has publicly denied this. Let’s cover it.
According to Instagram, the issue was caused by an external party abusing a vulnerability that has now been fixed. This flaw allowed attackers to trigger password reset emails without actually gaining access to accounts.
In short, accounts were not compromised, and users can safely ignore any unsolicited reset emails.
e reset emails to users in the hope of causing confusion or panic.
Instagram has advised users to simply ignore these emails if they didn’t request a password reset themselves.
The timing hasn’t helped. This update follows reports of a large data leak affecting around 17.5 million Instagram accounts, with information such as usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, and partial location data reportedly being advertised on dark web forums.
While Instagram says the two incidents are not directly linked, it is possible that leaked contact details could have been used to target specific users with reset requests or phishing attempts.
Although Instagram maintains that its core infrastructure remains secure, this incident is a good reminder that layered security still matters.
Security professionals recommend:
Large-scale data scraping combined with platform vulnerabilities can still pose risks, even when no direct breach has occurred.
We hope you’ve liked this blog. Stay tuned for more blogs like this. Stay safe!
