Facebook-owned Instagram Accidentally Exposed Some Users' Passwords

Social media platforms and blunders have a very strong bond. Almost every social media platform has done some blunders — at least once. And this time, it is the world famous photo-sharing platform, Instagram.

Recently, Instagram has informed some of its users to change their passwords as a bug in its website has accidentally exposed passwords of some of its users. According to the company, the issue has been patched and it has affected a very small number of people.

In April this year, Instagram rolled out a new feature called “Download Your Data” with the concern to prevent unauthorized users from getting their hands on your personal data and to comply with the new European data privacy regulations, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This new feature allows its users to download a copy of their social media data, which includes photos, comments, posts etc. However, unfortunately, the bug was residing there and caused a blunder.

According to an Instagram spokesperson, people, who used the ‘Download Your Data’ tool, were able to see their password in the URL bar of the page. However, the information was not at all exposed to anyone else. The company has made the necessary changes and it assures that this no longer happens.

Words of Advice:Blunders happen! And, it is also our duty to secure our data to the extent we can. Whether notified by Instagram or not, users are highly recommended to change their passwords and clear their browser history (to be on the safe side). Also, enable the two-factor authentication (2FA).