News

Instagram Fights Cybercrime With New Security Checkup Feature

Security Checkup is a new Instagram feature that helps users recover accounts which may have been compromised.

Published

5 years ago

July 21, 2021

instagram fights cybercrime with new security checkup feature

From politicians to small business owners to regular users, it’s no secret that Instagrammers from all walks of life are being targeted by cybercriminals. Now, Instagram is finally doing something to increase the security of its users.

On its official blog, the social media giant (Instagram is the fifth largest social network in the world when ranked by the number of active users) has recently announced the launch of a new feature called Security Checkup.

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The purpose of Security Checkup is to guide Instagram users whose accounts may have been hacked through the steps needed to secure them.

“This includes checking login activity, reviewing profile information, confirming the accounts that share login information and updating account recovery contact information such as phone number or email,” explains Instagram.

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Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, which is why Instagram recommends its users to enable two-factor authentication and login request, update their contact information, and report contact and accounts they find questionable.

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Instagram stressed that it never sends direct messages to users. Instead, the social network communicates with its large userbase only via email, and users can see all emails from Instagram in the Emails from Instagram tab in the settings menu.

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Likewise, users should exercise caution when messaging with people they don’t know well, even if their accounts have been verified. “Over the past few months, we’ve seen a rise in malicious accounts DMing people to try and access sensitive information like account passwords,” Instagram clarified.

Also Read: 4 Upcoming WhatsApp Updates You’re Going To Love

While the Security Checkup feature isn’t the solution some users have been hoping for, there’s no doubt that it’s a step in the right direction. Hopefully, Instagram will maintain its focus on cybersecurity and keep increasing the security of its users, helping them defend themselves against cybercriminals.

News

At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value

Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.

Published

6 days ago

May 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

at io 2026 sundar pichai concedes ai must deliver real value

Google

Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.

The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.

Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.

The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.

Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch

Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.

What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.