- What you need before you start
- Step by step recovery process
- If the standard recovery form will not accept you
- If Instagram keeps rejecting your video selfie or ID
- What to do if you suspect the hacker is using the account to scam people
- How to stop it happening again
- Frequently asked questions
- Useful references
The short version: You can still recover a hacked Instagram account without your old email by using your phone number, a trusted contact, or Instagram's own identity verification form. It takes patience and usually a video selfie, but it works even when the hacker has changed every contact detail on the account.
What you need before you start
Gather these before you touch anything, because the recovery form asks for most of them in one go.
- The exact username the account used, spelled correctly, including capital letters if there were any.
- A phone number you can receive texts on right now, ideally one that was ever linked to the account.
- Any old password you remember, even a wrong one. Instagram checks password history, not just the current one.
- A clear photo of a government ID that matches the name on the account, if the account used your real name.
- Access to a camera for a video selfie, because Instagram uses this to match your face against old profile photos.
Step by step recovery process
- Open the Instagram app and go to the login screen. Tap "Get help logging in" under the password field. On the web version, tap "Forgotten password?" instead.
If you do not see this option, force close the app and reopen it. Older app versions sometimes hide the link behind a plain "Log in" button.
- Enter the username, not the email, when the app asks for it. Instagram will then offer to send a login link or code by SMS to the phone number on file, if there is one.
If no phone number is linked, or the hacker removed it, Instagram will say it cannot find a way to reach you. Do not stop here, move to the next step.
- Tap "Need more help?" on the screen that says it cannot verify you. This opens a short form asking for the username, the email you signed up with if you remember it, and the phone number if any.
If this option is missing on your app version, update the app from the App Store or Play Store first. Older builds do not always show it.
- Fill in the "My account was hacked" report. Instagram will ask for the username, the original email or phone number used to sign up, and a description of what changed.
If you never used an email for this account at all, leave that field blank rather than guessing. A wrong guess can slow the review down.
- Check your other email inbox, the one you use day to day, in case Instagram already has it saved as a secondary contact. Search for "Instagram" in that inbox going back a year.
If nothing turns up, that confirms the email on file is one you cannot reach, which is exactly the case this article covers, so carry on to the video selfie step.
- When prompted, record the video selfie Instagram asks for. Turn your head slowly in the direction shown on screen. This is matched against your old profile pictures and story faces, so it works even without email or phone access.
If the video keeps failing to upload, switch from mobile data to wifi, or try a different phone. Large video files fail more often on slow connections.
- Submit a copy of a government photo ID if asked. Use a passport, driving licence, or national ID card. The name on it does not have to match your Instagram display name, but it helps if it matches the account's original sign up details.
If you do not want to submit ID, you can decline, but Instagram will usually only restore hacked accounts through the video method or the ID method, so declining both ends the recovery attempt for now.
- Wait for a response, which usually lands within a few hours to three days. Check your day to day email and your phone messages, because that is where the outcome is sent, not inside the app.
If three days pass with nothing, resubmit the "hacked account" form from the start rather than editing the old one. A fresh submission often gets picked up faster than a stuck one.
- Once you are back in, change the password straight away, remove any email or phone number you do not recognise, and check "Login activity" under Settings, then Security, then Login activity, to see every device currently signed in.
If you see a device or location you do not recognise still listed, tap it and choose "Log out" before doing anything else.
If the standard recovery form will not accept you
Some hacked accounts get locked out of the recovery form entirely because the attacker changed the username too, so your old username search returns nothing. Try these instead.
- Search for the account by the profile name or a saved link to your old profile, if you or a friend has one bookmarked. Copy the numeric user ID from the page if you can find it, since support can sometimes trace an account by ID even after the username has changed.
- Ask a friend who still follows the hacked account to report it as hacked or impersonating from their own app. A report from a third party sometimes moves faster because it flags the account as suspicious from more than one direction.
- If the account is linked to a Facebook page or a Facebook login, go to Facebook, then Settings, then Accounts Centre, then check under "Password and security" whether Instagram still shows as a connected account. Removing and reconnecting from that side can sometimes force a fresh verification prompt.
- If you run ads or manage a business account, contact support through the Meta Business Help Centre rather than the personal app flow. Business accounts get a different queue and it is often quicker if you can show ad spend history.
If Instagram keeps rejecting your video selfie or ID
This is the point where most people give up, and it is usually a technical problem rather than a rejection of your identity.
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- Record the video selfie in daylight or a well lit room. Low light is one of the most common reasons the match fails, since the system cannot compare facial features clearly against your old photos.
- Make sure your face fills the frame and stays centred for the whole recording. Moving too far from the camera, or turning your head faster than the on screen prompt asks, often causes the upload to fail the check.
- Remove sunglasses, hats, or anything covering part of your face, even if your old profile photos also show you wearing them. The system needs a clear, current view of your face to compare against older images.
- If a government ID keeps getting rejected, check that all four corners of the document are visible in the photo, the text is in focus, and there is no glare across the photo or the printed details. Retake it against a plain dark background rather than a patterned surface.
- If you have tried the same method three or more times with no success, switch to the other verification option. If you have only tried the video selfie, submit ID instead, and the other way round, since Instagram sometimes accepts one method more readily than the other depending on how much old photo data it has on file for your account.
What to do if you suspect the hacker is using the account to scam people
While you are working through recovery, it is worth warning people close to you separately, since a hacked account is very often used to message friends and followers asking for money or claiming to have moved to a new platform.
- Post a warning from any other social account you have, such as Facebook or a personal WhatsApp status, telling contacts not to trust messages from the hacked Instagram account until further notice.
- If the hacker has changed the bio to promote a scam, a crypto scheme, or an unrelated business, do not engage with it or try to message the account, since this can sometimes trigger further changes by the attacker before you recover it.
- Once you regain access, check Direct Messages for anything sent while you were locked out, and follow up individually with anyone who may have received a scam message in your name.
How to stop it happening again
Once you are back in, spend ten minutes locking the account down the right way so you are not back here again in a month.
- Turn on two factor authentication using an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator rather than SMS, because SIM swap attacks are one of the most common ways accounts get hacked in the first place.
- Add a phone number and a recovery email you check regularly, and make sure both are current, not an old university address or a number you cancelled years ago.
- Remove any third party app you do not recognise under Settings, then Apps and websites. Hacked accounts are very often compromised through a connected app with old permissions, not a guessed password.
- Change your password on any other account that used the same password, because reusing passwords is the single biggest reason accounts get hacked in the first place.
I have written more around this on the site: How Do You Download Instagram Story Highlights To Your Device, Instagram Help: 81 Guides to Followers, Hashtags, Money, Accounts and Fixes, Why Instagram Might Suspend Your Business Account (And What Trips the Wire).
If you only need a break rather than a goodbye, here's how to deactivate your Instagram account without losing anything.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Instagram take to restore a hacked account?
Most cases resolve within a few hours to three days once you have submitted the video selfie or ID. Business accounts and accounts with a large following sometimes take longer because they get extra manual checks.
Can I recover the account if the hacker changed the username and profile photo?
Yes. The video selfie match works against your face, not the current username or photo, so a changed profile does not block recovery as long as you can prove it was your account originally.
What if I never linked a phone number or email to the account?
Go straight to the "My account was hacked" report and rely on the video selfie and ID verification steps. This is the built in route for exactly that situation.
Will Instagram tell me who hacked the account?
No. Instagram restores access but does not share attacker details, IP addresses, or identity information with you. You can report it as a crime to your local police if money or personal data was taken.
Should I make a new account while I wait?
You can, but do not use it to message the same contacts claiming to be back yet, since a wave of hacked accounts also get used to message followers asking for money. Wait until the original is fully restored before posting anything from a replacement.
