Facebook data breach: Here’s what Instagram users should do

Facebook did not rule out the possibility that the latest data security breach may have affected linked applications like Instagram. Here’s what Instagram users can do right now to secure their accounts.

Facebook users logged into Instagram via Facebook should take note. (Shutterstock)

Facebook on Friday said it is investigating the full extent of its major data security breach that affected almost 50 million accounts on its platform. The latest breach allowed hackers to gain control of accounts by exploiting vulnerabilities in accessing tokens, equivalent of digital keys which keeps the app logged in the background. Facebook has also acknowledged the latest data breach may have affected linked applications like Instagram.

"So the vulnerability was on Facebook, but these access tokens enable someone to use [a connected account] as if they were the account holder themselves — this does mean they could have access other third party apps that were using Facebook login," Facebook Vice President of Product Management Guy Rosen told TechCrunch.

"Now that we have reset all of those access tokens as part of protecting the security of people's accounts, developers who use Facebook login will be able to detect that those access tokens has been reset, identify those users and as a user, you will simply have to log in again into those third party apps."

If you are using Instagram or any other third-party application linked with Facebook that may have your sensitive data, here's what you need to do.

Go to Instagram > Settings. Scroll down to the option of "Linked Accounts." Remove Facebook from the linked accounts. You can re-link the account after some time.

Facebook may have logged you out of the app if you are among the 50 million affected accounts. If you haven't been logged out but still want to make sure your account is safe, go to Facebook > Security and Login Menu. Scroll down to the section that shows "where you're logged in." Check the session history and if you find anything suspicious or unfamiliar device, simply tap on "log out of all sessions."

You may also reset your Facebook password as well. This may affect your linked applications as well.