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Instagram rolling out two-factor authentication for everyone, tools for a ‘safer & kinder community’

In a post on its official blog this afternoon, Instagram announced that two-factor authentication is now live for all users. The update was part of a wide-ranging announcement from the company, which focused on “fostering a safer, kinder community.”

Instagram had previously announced it was working on two-factor authentication and had rolled it out to select users. Today’s update, however, makes the added security layer available to everyone.

In order to enable two-factor authentication, simply tap the settings icon in the upper-left corner, look under the “Account” list and tap the “Two-Factor Authentication” option. Once you enable this feature, you will be required to enter a code every time you try to log in to the application:

Additionally, two-factor authentication is now available to everyone. This tool adds an extra layer of security to your Instagram account by requiring a code every time you log in. Tap the gear icon on your profile and choose Two-Factor Authentication to turn it on.

In addition to two-factor support, Instagram today has also announced that it will soon start blurring out sensitive photos and videos. As you can see in the screenshot above, sensitive content now requires you to specifically tap the “See Photo” option to prevent people from seeing things that they may find disturbing.

Soon you may notice a screen over sensitive photos and videos when you scroll through your feed or visit a profile. While these posts don’t violate our guidelines, someone in the community has reported them and our review team has confirmed they are sensitive.

Lastly, Instagram today has also announced a new website that offers up tips on how users can keep their account safe, deal with harassment, and much more. The site makes it easy to access tools for account blocking, comment controls, and photo tagging.  The new “Instagram Together” website can be found here.

Enabling two-factor authentication is something that we highly recommend as it makes it significantly harder for someone to improperly gain access to your account. The latest version of Instagram is available on the App Store for free.


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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

Tips, questions, typos to chance@9to5mac.com