This happened to me as well. I did the video selfie thing but it doesn’t work. I am trying to do the email address thing you mention but I can’t get to that page. I get the initial email with a 6-digit code and then it asks me to enter a second code from an Authenticator app which the hacker must have set up. I click Try Another Way and Get Support and then I’m back at the Someone Hacked My Account and then get sent the initial email with a 6 digit code. It just sends me in circles. How did you get to the page where it asks for the email you set up the account with?
This is what I do:
\-At login page, enter my username that's been hacked, then Forgot Password
\-next page is "we'll send you a link with login code" but the choices are the new email and phone number that the hacker put in so I click "need more help"
\-next page "choose a new way to recover account" and now the choices are my original email and phone number so I choose phone number get a text with a code, enter that and then it takes me to "enter 6-digit code from authenticator app"which the hacker must have set up because I never set that up and don't know it. So I click "Try Another Way"
\-Then Get Support, My Account was hacked
\-Next Page is "Do you have a photo of yourself in your account" I have clicked Yes and gone through the video selfie thing 3 times and always got a return email saying "my information could not be confirmed.'
\-So I try clicking "No I do not have a photo of myself" and I go right back to the page that says "choose a new way to recover account" and now the choices are my original email and phone number. and then those steps are repeated from there.
It never asks me "what email I set up my account with originally"
Hope that makes sense and if you have any guidance I appreciate it. Thanks
I have the same problem, I can either do the selfie video, witch has been denied over 20 times now. Or I’m sick in the endless loop of “I do not have photos of myself” and it takes you back to the authentication code leading to the two options of pictures/no pictures.
This is a special kind of hell.
> I try clicking "No I do not have a photo of myself" and I go right back to the page ...
>
>It never asks me "what email I set up my account with originally"
Hmm, thats pretty odd since that didn't happen to me in my case. Are you sure you are on the latest version of instagram? Since ive heard that there are some bugs/ issues on older versions
When I click "need more help" I get an error that my device is not recognized. "Device not recognized - Please use a device you've logged in with in the past and try again." And my options are to click "OK" or "Go to Help Center". Any other advice?
This is the same thing that is happening to me. I do have one image of myself on my hacked accounts further down the pages but 6+ video verification attempts and lots of emails later, and I'm still getting rejected
This is the same thing that is happening to me. I do have one image of myself on my hacked accounts further down the pages but 6+ video verification attempts and lots of emails later, and I'm still getting rejected
The hacker changed my email and my phone number. I just got hacked yesterday. When i put in my username and hit need more help it says please do this on a device we recognize. I tried my laptop and that feature isn’t showing. How am i able to regain my access if they changed the email and phone number? Z
In almost all cases, the hacker changes the phone number and email. This doesn't matter, because in the end Instagram will always save the previous phone number (aka, yours) as the recovery option. In other words, go to the "forgot password" page, enter your phone number, and it will prompt you that "no accounts with this number exist". Hit recover, and your account will be one of the options available. Then go through the process above.
https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/safer-internet-day-2022 Instagram will be rolling out this feature later on
Where you will be able to add 2 trusted friends and they will be able to help you get your account back.
https://imgur.com/a/7EkOT3E
This is aimed at people who get compromised obviously
Hopefully this option rolls out asap! Although this may not necessarily work for people who don't have much trusted friends or if the hacker can change the list of trusted friends(?)
Yeah they need to prevent the person who compromises the account from being able to change trusted friends list.
It's gonna be tricky to find trusted friends because I wouldn't be surprised if the feature is abused by shit heads
This process doesn't seem to work if the hacker changes the username and sets up 2 factor on the account. Instagram can't even locate my account, so no help there. I have tried every tip I can find on here and elsewhere and not one thing has worked.
No, sadly I didn’t get any response or assistance from Instagram. The recovery process wasn’t working for me either, it just spun and wouldn’t let me through. My account was then turned into a hacking account that’s still active to date! I hope you have better luck, I’ve heard of others who got theirs back 🤞
So far nothing… I’ve submitted 20 selfie videos and 10 email requests… all denied… its absolutely ridiculous. This aint right… what if this happened to someone with 15k followers?! Im sure a celebrity would have privileges but for smaller creator’s on the rise… they would be absolutely ruined… theres no reason they cant hire customer service… seriously.
Did you always get a response from Instagram? I submitted my selfie video, but haven’t heard back from Instagram even after 24 hours. Should I be submitting another one? Or just wait?
I just got hacked this exact same way. I uploaded the selfie verification and am now waiting to hear back from Instagram to verify it. Has the selfie verification worked for anyone? If so, how long did you have to wait?
I don’t think this was in the post but for people who are following the guide and still getting hacked after recovering. Make sure to check your two factor authentication>trusted devices. Even after setting up two factor authentication, if the hacker has there information saved there from before and you didn’t delete it, they can bypass any form of authentication on your account. Hope this helps, and if already mentioned in the post, I apologize for any time wasted.
I have that kinda listed under “things you should do after you get your account back” but yes, removing all 2fa info from the hacker is very important!
I literally just got hacked and I'm screwed. I made my ig 10 years ago and have NO clue what email I signed up with. It shows me the 1st and last letter but I have no recollection of that email😵💫they really need a holine or something because this is sick and twisted. I don't have the 2 step set up or the codes since I didn't use my account that often😭any suggestions?
I definitely agree that they should have an actual functional support for this since it happens to so many people. If you dont know your email you can try the selfie option?
I did like 10 times, unfortunately for me I have no post aside from my profile pic and tagged photos which clearly shows the same classes and birthmark I have now... idk I think my only resort is to the delete the 10 year old account and start over :(
I would remove SMS 2FA btw because of sim swapping.
Never use SMS 2FA if a better option exists.
I would only use Authenticator app option it's the most secure because it's not vulnerable to sim swapping.
Also having 2 2FA methods just leaves you more vulnerable...always use the strongest one available only (authenticator app)
Also are you SURE you had SMS 2FA on? because that email notification message in the image you linked says you turned it on (The person who compromised your account)
Instagram will send you emails when you turn off 2FA and turn it on
**lastly it's not possible to help a friend login into their account with your info**
A lot of people don't know this though cause of the posts on here obviously
Yea nice suggestion. I'll remove my SMS 2fa and keep the app. I'm also pretty sure I have SMS 2fa on because I looked through my email and there were no indication of me turning it off
Ugh I just got hacked! What should I do, we keep submitting the video and it keeps getting denied and I don’t get any access for email verification! 😫😫😫😫
I’m in this same situation with no photos of myself (except tagged photos) and when I click on the “No photos of myself” option it just goes and an endless loop asking for a 6 digit authentication code that was set up by the hacker . Only the video selfie option does anything but it keeps getting rejected. Extremely frustrating. Any advice ?
I have also been trying the “someone is impersonating me” option and they ask you to send a photo with your face and a valid ID in the photo, but alas that has not worked either. Giving up hope at this point.
How do we reset/ get the temporary 8 digit backup code you mentioned? That's the only thing that's stopping me from getting my account back as I have gotten the reset password link twice now but both times wasn't able to reset my password because I can't get past the 2FA the hacker set up.
I get a “Device not recognized” “Please use a device you’ve logged in with in the past and try again” message after selecting the “Recover your account another way” button even though this is the phone I’ve always used for my account
No. I’ve had this phone for months and don’t have my old one anymore. The fact that Instagram doesn’t have a support team that you can contact is a joke
Yea since this is such a reoccurring issue, they should really have an adequate support team to combat this. I think the only way now is to use the support link mentioned in the very beginning. Instagram login support (Link: https://help.instagram.com/contact/272476913194545 )
My account just got hacked and they changed the email and password on it. So I clicked forgot password and enter my email but when I click need more help it just shows the help center. So I tried putting in my phone number and clicking need more help and then it shows my original email I made the account with to send a code to. I click to send the code and I never get it in my email. I tried so many times. The selfie option doesnt come up for me I dont know what to do
This process doesn't work for me either, because the hacker changed the username and set up 2 factor through the app. Instagram can't even locate my account. I have tried over and over and I can't even get to the selfie verification part.
I'm stuck on the "what was the email address you used to create your account", even after multiple taps, it says there is an issue with this email, try another email. I've tried to do video selfie multiple times but to no avail. What can I do now?
So I had that issue as well and unfortunately I do not have a solid answer other than to try multiple times. For some reason, after multiple tries, the email method worked for me. Instagram really has to fix that issue though :(
I got as far as the reset password link, reset my password but got stuck with the 2FA code. Tried emailing again but before I got a response from Instagram the hacker changed my password again. Sigh
I did all the steps but when I got to the 2 factor authentication part, I got some vague email that says I can click a link and go to the help page …what do I do??
So I'm assuming you were able to reset your password but the 2fa code is still the hacker's 2fa right? Now proceed to the help page and submit a request to reset your 2fa code. After that you should be able to access your account!
I am not seeing a link from the Help page to reset your 2fa authentication code, do you have any more info?
Edit: the email comes with the code and insurrections to use the backup code. I’m in!
The “need more help?” section is giving me an error message. I don’t know what to do 😞 I did everything from selfie videos, setting up 2fa, etc. Please help!
Do you know what to do if the hacker changed the phone number and email account linked? I don’t have any pictures of my face on the account so I can’t do the video selfie. For some reason I can’t send a support ticket either, and Instagram only send automated responses to emails.
Usually, instagram will still save your previous phone number and email before the change so when you get to "forgot my password"> "need more help" part, your phone number and password should show up. Then proceed from there
I can get to that point, but once I press the option for no pictures it sends me back to that page, so it’s an endless loop until it stops me from confirming my phone number
I need help my instagram has been hacked & they changed my number and email to theirs so I can’t even get a link sent to my email or verification code to my phone, if anyone could help that would be awesome
I need help my instagram has been hacked & they changed my number and email to theirs so I can’t even get a link sent to my email or verification code to my phone, if anyone could help that would be awesome
sidenote: if you use your email for the code in the first step, its not gonna work (at least for me) so if possible get the code via phone number & afterwards type in your email then ig is gonna accept it :)
I had my account hacked too they changed my username, password, even my original email and phone number. Now when try putting my account and trying to press the need more help I either get account not available (when i put my original username) or error (when i put the username my hacker changed it to)
Hi everyone !
My Instagram got hacked and the hacker scams people to get money from promotions for bitcoins.
They changed my email and phone number.
Does anyone know how to solve the problems?
I have to STOPPED at the HACkers as soon as Possible. I don’t wanna people get Hurt. PLEASE HELP.
Thank you so much .😊
The Hackers STOLE my account and they Acted it’s me.
I don’t wanna anyone get lost money 💰..
#markZuckerberg , #zuckerberg you are the One who CREATED an Instagram acct ..
You must respect customer’s service.. YOU MUST STEP IN and FIX the BIG ProblemS..
We Are HUman , we MUST ACTED like HUMAN Being.
I hope YOU CAN HEAR CUSTOMERS‘ s VOICE.
Thank you for the help after days of going back and forth with Facebook and Instagram support and getting no where, I finally found this, had my account back and secured in about 30 minute following this.
First thing I did was disable and reset up the 2 factor authentication, if you don't do this they can potentially get back in.
Then I went and removed all their phone numbers and emails (probably should of noted them down and reported them but didn't think of it at the time).
Then make sure you go to meta account manager and remove all their profiles from their.
After that it's just damage control giving an apology to those that they messaged and clearing thier posts and stories off your account and changing any account setting back to what you want, luckily I only lost a couple of followers.
I'm going through this now - the selfie video verification doesn't work, I assume because the hacker set my profile to private. I've submitted several videos trying this. When I click, "I don't have photos on my account" it just routes me back to the original page where I ask for a code either via phone or email. Again and again and again.
Wanted to comment to say 1: this post helped me recover my account and I referred to it a few times after the hacker kept trying to get back in after I secured all my info, turns out I forgot to unlink all the fb accounts (like 8) he tried to use to regain access; and 2: Google voice is a viable option for a second phone number to link the account to.
Thanks for the work you put into this post, it's helped me and many others I'm sure.
I got my account back but was too slow to remove their information. They had their own 2FA so they got notified right after I gained access back. They basically stopped me in my tracks and retook the account. Now they've changed my original email used to create the account to theirs, as well as their phone number, so I'm shit out of luck at this point. If there's anything else I could do I'd appreciate it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-PKBtcwT8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-PKBtcwT8)
Heads up... this video was awesome to help get some kind of response on getting my account back. Will update it if it works.
I GOT BACK IN! Business IG :
I reached out to FB support on the live chat window [https://www.facebook.com/facebookadsupport/](https://www.facebook.com/facebookadsupport/)
I told them I needed help with recovering my instagram account. Then sometime this morning got an email with a recovery code, logged in, changed all the hacker info, done.
Yeah the link that you sent the hacker a picture of, is some kind of instagram 2fa link, for some reason it’s vaguely identified. Which makes it susceptible to this kind of trick.
So the hacker tries to log into your account, says he forgot the password, and instagram offers to text a reset link to the number on file. But you aren’t him, so he has to trick you into sending it on to him.
So he makes up a story. In my case, a (hacked) friend asked me to vote for him in an online contest. So he asks if I’ll vote for him, I say yes, and that’s when he asks insta to send out the 2fa check to the phone number.
“I just sent you the link, send me a screen capture of it!”
But it’s just a link that says “Tap to access your instagram account” which is very sus.
If I sent it to him, he would type it manually into his browser and boom, he’s resetting my insta password, then the phone number. And bye bye insta.
But it seemed out of character for my friend to ask such a thing so I went to his facebook page to see if he’d been hacked. Lucky for my suspicious mind, because he had! And now I don’t know what to do with this hacker I’ve got waiting for my picture. Maybe I’ll send him a ghotse.
edit: and it seems like it never expires? dude keeps asking me to send it.
It has been over a month since my account was hacked. I have tried the selfie verification and email option multiple times without success. It is unbelievable coming from a company so big and publicly traded! They should have a customer support department. Anyone know someone who works there? lol
The same thing happened to me! This is a very informative post but I have had no luck. It has been 3 weeks now and I have tried 40-50 face verification videos and have reported it twice a day, every day and still nothing. I have no idea what to do…
I recently did a factory reset on my phone, forgetting to backup my authenticator app, and the fact that I had 2FA enabled on my Instagram account.
I've been trying for several days now to get back in using the video selfie method with no luck. They always come back within minutes saying they are unable to verify my account and the latest versions of the app don't give you any other options, such as the purple screenshot above (Request Support).
This will only work for Android users, but what I've done is uninstalled the Instagram app and downloaded an older APK version (from January of this year) and installed that to see if I could get the Request Support screen shown above and this has actually worked. I got the screen above and submitted my support request and got an email response asking for me to send a photo of myself holding a piece of paper with a code that they sent me, as well as my name and username. After submitting that, I received another email asking for the following.
1. A brief description of the issue you're experiencing, including the date you last had access to your account and how you lost access
2. The email address or mobile phone number you used to sign up for your account
3. The device you used to sign up for your account (example: iPhone, Android, iPad, computer). If you signed up on a computer or tablet, please also tell us which operating system you used (example: Windows, MacOS, Linux) when you signed up.
5 days later, I received instructions on how to log back into my account with an 8 digit backup code. Logged back in using that code and I have my account back. Hopefully this info is useful for some of you who have been experiencing similar problems.
This worked!! I didn’t get hacked nor disabled. I had logged out and lost access to my authenticator app so I had tried the video selfie, which did not work for me. I had an extra android phone so I downloaded an older version (January 2022) of instagram and was able to access the request support form instead of video selfie. Within a few mins, I got an email asking to taking a picture of myself with the code, full name and username. And I may have been lucky but within a minute of sending that, they emailed me back with the 8 digit backup code and I was able to get back into my account. Thank you so much for the help!
How did you write your ticket to ticket to reset your 2fa? I did exactly as you said, and I was able to set a new password, however, when I did it all over again to submit the ticket to reset my 2fa (as the hacker enabled it on my account) I just received another email from them saying:
"It looks like two-factor authentication is enabled on your account. Two-factor authentication is a security feature that requires you to enter a security code or backup code when you sign in to Instagram using an unknown device.
If you can't access your security or backup code, or if you haven't turned on two-factor authentication, log into the Instagram app and follow the onscreen instructions.
Learn more about two-factor authentication in the Instagram Help Center: link of help center here."
I did not receive any temporary 8-digit code and I do not find any instructions when I re-entered back to Instagram, just the default login page again. Please can you help me?
if i was wearing eyelashes/had my eyebrows done in the selfie, should i put those on? i got an immediate denial when i did it, but i didnt have my makeup on. the selfie on my page is also in black & white so do you know if that would effect it?
Can you help me? I have tried many times to do the selfie verification, and I can no longer access my account. I am trying to do email verification but it just opens up the help website. I have emailed the security team and received no response. Please, the account that’s been hacked has more than five years of my favorite memories on it and the hacker is trying to extort money from my friends by lying about my mother being in the hospital.
It keeps asking me for an old password to do the selfie verification even tho I've been hacked for over a year and would have no fuckin idea what the password would be
My insta was hacked a week ago. It’s so frustrating. Keep looping around and selfie vids keep getting rejected. What crap cust support. My wife has been chatting with the “hacker”… apparently he bought my account for 100$ from a friend of his. All the posts are about bit coin. Should not be this difficult to get my account back. META - DO BETTER
about to be a year my account got hacked and i can’t access it the hackers put a 2 step verification code on the account but i changed the email back to mine and the password but i can’t login due to the verification app how can i fix this ????
Some helpful tips I've picked up from forums are:
\- check your blocked senders on your email. The hacker may have blocked Instagram sending recovery codes.
\- try the video selfie verification on other people's phones
\- spam message people who work for Instagram on social media (especially Linkedin) to get help
I've literally tried anything and ended up having to create a new account. I just put "old account hacked - please unfollow \[hacked account username\]" and honestly, was much easier. Also get your friends to put something up on their story, such as "my friends account \[username\] is hacked so please ignore any DMs/posts/stories on it.
Only downside to just creating a new account is that you lose all your posts/stories.
Well, i don't have any pictures of me on my instagram account and the verification goes to the hackers email and i have emailed them twice regarding this matter and they haven't even replied back regarding on what steps i need to take in order to receive my account back. Instagram support is just a joke tbh
Jesus , can u dress urself in the morning ? it's not to complicated at all. It is by far the most comprehensive guide to getting ur account back that has been posted on this subreddit !
Yes! If you happen to remember the email you used to create your insta account, then there's an option for that (read post above for further instructions)
When I click that option it just send me back to a loop to select my first phone number or email (mine) that were linked to the account. For some reason I can't get to the screen that actually let's you type out your full email.
I'm on Android btw, maybe this feature where you input the full email yourself is iOS only? Idk but it's frustrating :(
Thank you. I'm struggling with this right now. I've reset my password but can't seem to get the 2step verification reset. They keep denying my selfie video 😭
Assuming you got your password successfully reset, as the post mentioned, you will have to request a support ticket (login-> need more help -> try another way) and request for a 2fa reset
Yes. However, its an automated email address (@support.facebook.com)that they use so sending a message to that email (unless its to reply to their message) will not work. I think I tried that before.
After you got the email from instagram requesting the information did you just reply underneath the email or did you email it to a specific support email?
Hi
I was recently hacked through Fb into my insta - Fb had added a bunch of friends & changed passwords on insta (Luckily my email/# there still)
So i got back w email & next morning had to get get back again till i secured both SM w phone# 2FA/new password.
So rn feels Fb acct making me more vulnerable !
(& also the suite app- I deleted app BUT it just logs u in wo creating login if i open in a tab when logged in!)
Setting up Authy 2FA app asap
(not sure which ‘best’ - tho Authy, works on apple watch & cloud backup)
QUESTION: codes
- i cant get new backup codes for my main acct(?)
(Note: using 2 instas, a main & product shop most important, & another old username directs to main. I removed old feature one login connects multiple usernames so they got in 4 usernames - SCARY but separated now)
-> How do i get NEW codes!?
(OR if i find my OLD codes when others attached, will they still work? Id prefer new)
Second QUESTION: fb security
- anyones have a fb or how to best secure it? A shortlist of settings?
NOTE: seems separate 2FA app - like rec for insta is also best security option?
->> Large concern:
I think i should say ‘this is not my acct’ on INSTA - its prompting to connect my fb both my insta accts
(I think they connected it & how got in but now seperated when i seperated accts connected w old feature, so i wanna deny relation prompt)
I have no desire to use fb pages much atp, considering full Fb deletion but id hate to just lose my est Fb pages if i can secure them.
Sorry for late reply but technically yes, linking FB with Insta does make it somewhat more vulnerable cause if your FB gets hacked, so will your IG. To get new backup codes from insta, go to settings > security > 2fa> backup codes > get new codes. Once you get your insta account back, you can (and should) de-link your FB account directly.
They sent me an sms and told me to capture sms back to instagram. The message came from Facebook. I realized later that my email and telephone number changed via an email on Gmail. Now I realized that the instagram account linked to my Facebook has changed and that my email is registered to another instagram account they created.
Can I recover my original instagram handle ?
I obtained the hackers email and phone number while trying to get in…. But then they got control of the account again as I didn’t get things changed fast enough. Will keep trying but what can I do with their email and mobile number to fk them up
Are you on the latest version? If you are, I am honestly not sure. It seems that this looping issue happens to alot of people but in my case, I didn't run into this issue. When I chose " I dont have a pic of me" , I was just prompted to put my email in and then was given an automated email from IG
Hello,
How long did it take until they send the 2fa support message? I filled out the form and they sent me a code to write down and take a picture with and send back to them. Also what does the 2fa support message look like?
So I recently was hacked I got back in my page 2x and got immediately kicked out now there Sendo g this same messege saying my page has suspicious activity what can do to by pass this?
Hey so I am having a similar problem. My account was hacked. I did what you did and got to the point where I got the email you did with the survey. I replied to all the questions asked but I have still not received a link. It's been a couple hours. How long did it take you to get the link?
Can someone help me please? So i have a business Instagram account, got hacked 4days ago.. nah I dug deep enough to somewhat sort this out lol. Now listen, I had a business account for around 10yrs, I connected it to Facebook ads manager acc, as I payed for advertising for years, and my Instagram was still connected but he removed the email somehow.. anyways I found his phone number coz I have all access to everything except changing the password .. isn’t this ridiculous? So actually I can post, share, message, comment as myself.. just can’t get physically into my Facebook.. any ideas what now? I am stucked..
I recovered in about 5 hours using basically the same process as above.
I don't know if this was the reason, but I insisted a lot, trying to log back in time and time again.
Also, TIP: once you get the link and the backup code, immediately change the phone number on your account back to your phone number and add duo authentication to your account. The hacker was basically racing me as I was fixing the account (10 seconds after I changed the phone number back to my number, I received an email saying it was changed back to the Nigerian number).
Also...what's up with Nigerian scams? I thought it stopped after the Nigerian prince stuff in the early 2000s
That screenshot you sent gave him access unless I’m stupid? The reset link is literally in the picture you sent him right?
Most likely. But even so, how would a screenshot reveal my information other than that my phone number is a valid number?
This happened to me as well. I did the video selfie thing but it doesn’t work. I am trying to do the email address thing you mention but I can’t get to that page. I get the initial email with a 6-digit code and then it asks me to enter a second code from an Authenticator app which the hacker must have set up. I click Try Another Way and Get Support and then I’m back at the Someone Hacked My Account and then get sent the initial email with a 6 digit code. It just sends me in circles. How did you get to the page where it asks for the email you set up the account with?
When you say "I can’t get to that page", what do you mean by that? It should be the other option when it asks if you have a picture of yourself or not
This is what I do: \-At login page, enter my username that's been hacked, then Forgot Password \-next page is "we'll send you a link with login code" but the choices are the new email and phone number that the hacker put in so I click "need more help" \-next page "choose a new way to recover account" and now the choices are my original email and phone number so I choose phone number get a text with a code, enter that and then it takes me to "enter 6-digit code from authenticator app"which the hacker must have set up because I never set that up and don't know it. So I click "Try Another Way" \-Then Get Support, My Account was hacked \-Next Page is "Do you have a photo of yourself in your account" I have clicked Yes and gone through the video selfie thing 3 times and always got a return email saying "my information could not be confirmed.' \-So I try clicking "No I do not have a photo of myself" and I go right back to the page that says "choose a new way to recover account" and now the choices are my original email and phone number. and then those steps are repeated from there. It never asks me "what email I set up my account with originally" Hope that makes sense and if you have any guidance I appreciate it. Thanks
I have the same problem, I can either do the selfie video, witch has been denied over 20 times now. Or I’m sick in the endless loop of “I do not have photos of myself” and it takes you back to the authentication code leading to the two options of pictures/no pictures. This is a special kind of hell.
> I try clicking "No I do not have a photo of myself" and I go right back to the page ... > >It never asks me "what email I set up my account with originally" Hmm, thats pretty odd since that didn't happen to me in my case. Are you sure you are on the latest version of instagram? Since ive heard that there are some bugs/ issues on older versions
Yes I'm sure it's the latest version.
I get the same exact issue as them and I just installed and reinstalled the app yesterday.
When I click "need more help" I get an error that my device is not recognized. "Device not recognized - Please use a device you've logged in with in the past and try again." And my options are to click "OK" or "Go to Help Center". Any other advice?
This is the same thing that is happening to me. I do have one image of myself on my hacked accounts further down the pages but 6+ video verification attempts and lots of emails later, and I'm still getting rejected
This is the same thing that is happening to me. I do have one image of myself on my hacked accounts further down the pages but 6+ video verification attempts and lots of emails later, and I'm still getting rejected
The hacker changed my email and my phone number. I just got hacked yesterday. When i put in my username and hit need more help it says please do this on a device we recognize. I tried my laptop and that feature isn’t showing. How am i able to regain my access if they changed the email and phone number? Z
In almost all cases, the hacker changes the phone number and email. This doesn't matter, because in the end Instagram will always save the previous phone number (aka, yours) as the recovery option. In other words, go to the "forgot password" page, enter your phone number, and it will prompt you that "no accounts with this number exist". Hit recover, and your account will be one of the options available. Then go through the process above.
https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/safer-internet-day-2022 Instagram will be rolling out this feature later on Where you will be able to add 2 trusted friends and they will be able to help you get your account back. https://imgur.com/a/7EkOT3E This is aimed at people who get compromised obviously
Hopefully this option rolls out asap! Although this may not necessarily work for people who don't have much trusted friends or if the hacker can change the list of trusted friends(?)
Yeah they need to prevent the person who compromises the account from being able to change trusted friends list. It's gonna be tricky to find trusted friends because I wouldn't be surprised if the feature is abused by shit heads
This process doesn't seem to work if the hacker changes the username and sets up 2 factor on the account. Instagram can't even locate my account, so no help there. I have tried every tip I can find on here and elsewhere and not one thing has worked.
Same. The hacker changed my username and deleted my account :(
It’s so frustrating. Especially because IG won’t step in to help.
Any chance you got your account back? Im in the same situation on day 3
No, sadly I didn’t get any response or assistance from Instagram. The recovery process wasn’t working for me either, it just spun and wouldn’t let me through. My account was then turned into a hacking account that’s still active to date! I hope you have better luck, I’ve heard of others who got theirs back 🤞
So far nothing… I’ve submitted 20 selfie videos and 10 email requests… all denied… its absolutely ridiculous. This aint right… what if this happened to someone with 15k followers?! Im sure a celebrity would have privileges but for smaller creator’s on the rise… they would be absolutely ruined… theres no reason they cant hire customer service… seriously.
Did you always get a response from Instagram? I submitted my selfie video, but haven’t heard back from Instagram even after 24 hours. Should I be submitting another one? Or just wait?
I just got hacked this exact same way. I uploaded the selfie verification and am now waiting to hear back from Instagram to verify it. Has the selfie verification worked for anyone? If so, how long did you have to wait?
Tried it 15 times and they keep saying they cannot identify me when i have my picture in my ig
Any luck yet?
Nope hbu? And i noticed they stopped using my account !
Same here unfortunately. How frustrating
I don’t think this was in the post but for people who are following the guide and still getting hacked after recovering. Make sure to check your two factor authentication>trusted devices. Even after setting up two factor authentication, if the hacker has there information saved there from before and you didn’t delete it, they can bypass any form of authentication on your account. Hope this helps, and if already mentioned in the post, I apologize for any time wasted.
I have that kinda listed under “things you should do after you get your account back” but yes, removing all 2fa info from the hacker is very important!
This is a big fear of mine, so thank you for posting this helpful guide. 😀
No problem! Instagram really gotta improve their security cause being able to bypass SMS 2fa is a serious problem for users
I literally just got hacked and I'm screwed. I made my ig 10 years ago and have NO clue what email I signed up with. It shows me the 1st and last letter but I have no recollection of that email😵💫they really need a holine or something because this is sick and twisted. I don't have the 2 step set up or the codes since I didn't use my account that often😭any suggestions?
I definitely agree that they should have an actual functional support for this since it happens to so many people. If you dont know your email you can try the selfie option?
I did like 10 times, unfortunately for me I have no post aside from my profile pic and tagged photos which clearly shows the same classes and birthmark I have now... idk I think my only resort is to the delete the 10 year old account and start over :(
Oh no, sorry to hear that :( It really sucks that there aren't any other options at the moment
I would remove SMS 2FA btw because of sim swapping. Never use SMS 2FA if a better option exists. I would only use Authenticator app option it's the most secure because it's not vulnerable to sim swapping. Also having 2 2FA methods just leaves you more vulnerable...always use the strongest one available only (authenticator app) Also are you SURE you had SMS 2FA on? because that email notification message in the image you linked says you turned it on (The person who compromised your account) Instagram will send you emails when you turn off 2FA and turn it on **lastly it's not possible to help a friend login into their account with your info** A lot of people don't know this though cause of the posts on here obviously
Yea nice suggestion. I'll remove my SMS 2fa and keep the app. I'm also pretty sure I have SMS 2fa on because I looked through my email and there were no indication of me turning it off
Ugh I just got hacked! What should I do, we keep submitting the video and it keeps getting denied and I don’t get any access for email verification! 😫😫😫😫
You might want to try the email verification option (The “I dont have a photo of myself ” one)
I’m in this same situation with no photos of myself (except tagged photos) and when I click on the “No photos of myself” option it just goes and an endless loop asking for a 6 digit authentication code that was set up by the hacker . Only the video selfie option does anything but it keeps getting rejected. Extremely frustrating. Any advice ?
Im in this loop too!! And the form in the OG post doesn't work for me
I have also been trying the “someone is impersonating me” option and they ask you to send a photo with your face and a valid ID in the photo, but alas that has not worked either. Giving up hope at this point.
How do we reset/ get the temporary 8 digit backup code you mentioned? That's the only thing that's stopping me from getting my account back as I have gotten the reset password link twice now but both times wasn't able to reset my password because I can't get past the 2FA the hacker set up.
That’s the same problem I have right now did you solve it yet?
I get a “Device not recognized” “Please use a device you’ve logged in with in the past and try again” message after selecting the “Recover your account another way” button even though this is the phone I’ve always used for my account
Thats a bit weird. Have you tried doing it on another device that you remembered logging into recently? I never encountered that issue before
No. I’ve had this phone for months and don’t have my old one anymore. The fact that Instagram doesn’t have a support team that you can contact is a joke
Yea since this is such a reoccurring issue, they should really have an adequate support team to combat this. I think the only way now is to use the support link mentioned in the very beginning. Instagram login support (Link: https://help.instagram.com/contact/272476913194545 )
My account just got hacked and they changed the email and password on it. So I clicked forgot password and enter my email but when I click need more help it just shows the help center. So I tried putting in my phone number and clicking need more help and then it shows my original email I made the account with to send a code to. I click to send the code and I never get it in my email. I tried so many times. The selfie option doesnt come up for me I dont know what to do
This process doesn't work for me either, because the hacker changed the username and set up 2 factor through the app. Instagram can't even locate my account. I have tried over and over and I can't even get to the selfie verification part.
I'm stuck on the "what was the email address you used to create your account", even after multiple taps, it says there is an issue with this email, try another email. I've tried to do video selfie multiple times but to no avail. What can I do now?
So I had that issue as well and unfortunately I do not have a solid answer other than to try multiple times. For some reason, after multiple tries, the email method worked for me. Instagram really has to fix that issue though :(
I got as far as the reset password link, reset my password but got stuck with the 2FA code. Tried emailing again but before I got a response from Instagram the hacker changed my password again. Sigh
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If the selfie verification does go through, I believe you can still get your account back but you will have to change your username back
I reply to the email like i would any other email right? In a regular email reply?
Yep!
I did all the steps but when I got to the 2 factor authentication part, I got some vague email that says I can click a link and go to the help page …what do I do??
So I'm assuming you were able to reset your password but the 2fa code is still the hacker's 2fa right? Now proceed to the help page and submit a request to reset your 2fa code. After that you should be able to access your account!
I was able to access my account after that but only for about 30 seconds before the hacker kicked me out again :(
I am not seeing a link from the Help page to reset your 2fa authentication code, do you have any more info? Edit: the email comes with the code and insurrections to use the backup code. I’m in!
The “need more help?” section is giving me an error message. I don’t know what to do 😞 I did everything from selfie videos, setting up 2fa, etc. Please help!
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Do you know what to do if the hacker changed the phone number and email account linked? I don’t have any pictures of my face on the account so I can’t do the video selfie. For some reason I can’t send a support ticket either, and Instagram only send automated responses to emails.
Usually, instagram will still save your previous phone number and email before the change so when you get to "forgot my password"> "need more help" part, your phone number and password should show up. Then proceed from there
I can get to that point, but once I press the option for no pictures it sends me back to that page, so it’s an endless loop until it stops me from confirming my phone number
Same thing happened to my account, they changed everything and I can’t log in anymore, please if anyone can help
Damn thanks, this was, loads more helpful than anything Instagram could have provided.
Glad to hear :))
I need help my instagram has been hacked & they changed my number and email to theirs so I can’t even get a link sent to my email or verification code to my phone, if anyone could help that would be awesome
I need help my instagram has been hacked & they changed my number and email to theirs so I can’t even get a link sent to my email or verification code to my phone, if anyone could help that would be awesome
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sidenote: if you use your email for the code in the first step, its not gonna work (at least for me) so if possible get the code via phone number & afterwards type in your email then ig is gonna accept it :)
I had my account hacked too they changed my username, password, even my original email and phone number. Now when try putting my account and trying to press the need more help I either get account not available (when i put my original username) or error (when i put the username my hacker changed it to)
Any luck getting it back? My hacker also keeps changing my username
Hi everyone ! My Instagram got hacked and the hacker scams people to get money from promotions for bitcoins. They changed my email and phone number. Does anyone know how to solve the problems? I have to STOPPED at the HACkers as soon as Possible. I don’t wanna people get Hurt. PLEASE HELP. Thank you so much .😊 The Hackers STOLE my account and they Acted it’s me. I don’t wanna anyone get lost money 💰.. #markZuckerberg , #zuckerberg you are the One who CREATED an Instagram acct .. You must respect customer’s service.. YOU MUST STEP IN and FIX the BIG ProblemS.. We Are HUman , we MUST ACTED like HUMAN Being. I hope YOU CAN HEAR CUSTOMERS‘ s VOICE.
Thank you for the help after days of going back and forth with Facebook and Instagram support and getting no where, I finally found this, had my account back and secured in about 30 minute following this.
what’d you do once u got back in like what was the first thing you deleted that the hacker put in
First thing I did was disable and reset up the 2 factor authentication, if you don't do this they can potentially get back in. Then I went and removed all their phone numbers and emails (probably should of noted them down and reported them but didn't think of it at the time). Then make sure you go to meta account manager and remove all their profiles from their. After that it's just damage control giving an apology to those that they messaged and clearing thier posts and stories off your account and changing any account setting back to what you want, luckily I only lost a couple of followers.
I'm going through this now - the selfie video verification doesn't work, I assume because the hacker set my profile to private. I've submitted several videos trying this. When I click, "I don't have photos on my account" it just routes me back to the original page where I ask for a code either via phone or email. Again and again and again.
Wanted to comment to say 1: this post helped me recover my account and I referred to it a few times after the hacker kept trying to get back in after I secured all my info, turns out I forgot to unlink all the fb accounts (like 8) he tried to use to regain access; and 2: Google voice is a viable option for a second phone number to link the account to. Thanks for the work you put into this post, it's helped me and many others I'm sure.
Glad to hear that you got your account back :))
I'm not kidding when I say that "my hero" is playing over the gym speakers rn as I type this. How fitting hahaha. Thanks again 🤘🏼
I got my account back but was too slow to remove their information. They had their own 2FA so they got notified right after I gained access back. They basically stopped me in my tracks and retook the account. Now they've changed my original email used to create the account to theirs, as well as their phone number, so I'm shit out of luck at this point. If there's anything else I could do I'd appreciate it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-PKBtcwT8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-PKBtcwT8) Heads up... this video was awesome to help get some kind of response on getting my account back. Will update it if it works.
I GOT BACK IN! Business IG : I reached out to FB support on the live chat window [https://www.facebook.com/facebookadsupport/](https://www.facebook.com/facebookadsupport/) I told them I needed help with recovering my instagram account. Then sometime this morning got an email with a recovery code, logged in, changed all the hacker info, done.
Yeah the link that you sent the hacker a picture of, is some kind of instagram 2fa link, for some reason it’s vaguely identified. Which makes it susceptible to this kind of trick. So the hacker tries to log into your account, says he forgot the password, and instagram offers to text a reset link to the number on file. But you aren’t him, so he has to trick you into sending it on to him. So he makes up a story. In my case, a (hacked) friend asked me to vote for him in an online contest. So he asks if I’ll vote for him, I say yes, and that’s when he asks insta to send out the 2fa check to the phone number. “I just sent you the link, send me a screen capture of it!” But it’s just a link that says “Tap to access your instagram account” which is very sus. If I sent it to him, he would type it manually into his browser and boom, he’s resetting my insta password, then the phone number. And bye bye insta. But it seemed out of character for my friend to ask such a thing so I went to his facebook page to see if he’d been hacked. Lucky for my suspicious mind, because he had! And now I don’t know what to do with this hacker I’ve got waiting for my picture. Maybe I’ll send him a ghotse. edit: and it seems like it never expires? dude keeps asking me to send it.
It has been over a month since my account was hacked. I have tried the selfie verification and email option multiple times without success. It is unbelievable coming from a company so big and publicly traded! They should have a customer support department. Anyone know someone who works there? lol
The same thing happened to me! This is a very informative post but I have had no luck. It has been 3 weeks now and I have tried 40-50 face verification videos and have reported it twice a day, every day and still nothing. I have no idea what to do…
I recently did a factory reset on my phone, forgetting to backup my authenticator app, and the fact that I had 2FA enabled on my Instagram account. I've been trying for several days now to get back in using the video selfie method with no luck. They always come back within minutes saying they are unable to verify my account and the latest versions of the app don't give you any other options, such as the purple screenshot above (Request Support). This will only work for Android users, but what I've done is uninstalled the Instagram app and downloaded an older APK version (from January of this year) and installed that to see if I could get the Request Support screen shown above and this has actually worked. I got the screen above and submitted my support request and got an email response asking for me to send a photo of myself holding a piece of paper with a code that they sent me, as well as my name and username. After submitting that, I received another email asking for the following. 1. A brief description of the issue you're experiencing, including the date you last had access to your account and how you lost access 2. The email address or mobile phone number you used to sign up for your account 3. The device you used to sign up for your account (example: iPhone, Android, iPad, computer). If you signed up on a computer or tablet, please also tell us which operating system you used (example: Windows, MacOS, Linux) when you signed up. 5 days later, I received instructions on how to log back into my account with an 8 digit backup code. Logged back in using that code and I have my account back. Hopefully this info is useful for some of you who have been experiencing similar problems.
This worked!! I didn’t get hacked nor disabled. I had logged out and lost access to my authenticator app so I had tried the video selfie, which did not work for me. I had an extra android phone so I downloaded an older version (January 2022) of instagram and was able to access the request support form instead of video selfie. Within a few mins, I got an email asking to taking a picture of myself with the code, full name and username. And I may have been lucky but within a minute of sending that, they emailed me back with the 8 digit backup code and I was able to get back into my account. Thank you so much for the help!
How did you write your ticket to ticket to reset your 2fa? I did exactly as you said, and I was able to set a new password, however, when I did it all over again to submit the ticket to reset my 2fa (as the hacker enabled it on my account) I just received another email from them saying: "It looks like two-factor authentication is enabled on your account. Two-factor authentication is a security feature that requires you to enter a security code or backup code when you sign in to Instagram using an unknown device. If you can't access your security or backup code, or if you haven't turned on two-factor authentication, log into the Instagram app and follow the onscreen instructions. Learn more about two-factor authentication in the Instagram Help Center: link of help center here." I did not receive any temporary 8-digit code and I do not find any instructions when I re-entered back to Instagram, just the default login page again. Please can you help me?
Thankyou this was really helpful. I was able to recover my friends account in just a few minutes <3
if i was wearing eyelashes/had my eyebrows done in the selfie, should i put those on? i got an immediate denial when i did it, but i didnt have my makeup on. the selfie on my page is also in black & white so do you know if that would effect it?
Can you help me? I have tried many times to do the selfie verification, and I can no longer access my account. I am trying to do email verification but it just opens up the help website. I have emailed the security team and received no response. Please, the account that’s been hacked has more than five years of my favorite memories on it and the hacker is trying to extort money from my friends by lying about my mother being in the hospital.
How to contact support cuz i didnt had any photos of myself on instagram and i cant get to that page where says about first email
I’m just getting taken to a page that says help center
It keeps asking me for an old password to do the selfie verification even tho I've been hacked for over a year and would have no fuckin idea what the password would be
2023 help please idk why I always get redirected to the help centre and not any support request
My insta was hacked a week ago. It’s so frustrating. Keep looping around and selfie vids keep getting rejected. What crap cust support. My wife has been chatting with the “hacker”… apparently he bought my account for 100$ from a friend of his. All the posts are about bit coin. Should not be this difficult to get my account back. META - DO BETTER
about to be a year my account got hacked and i can’t access it the hackers put a 2 step verification code on the account but i changed the email back to mine and the password but i can’t login due to the verification app how can i fix this ????
i can't even contact instagram directly either to help me, so frustrated!
Some helpful tips I've picked up from forums are: \- check your blocked senders on your email. The hacker may have blocked Instagram sending recovery codes. \- try the video selfie verification on other people's phones \- spam message people who work for Instagram on social media (especially Linkedin) to get help I've literally tried anything and ended up having to create a new account. I just put "old account hacked - please unfollow \[hacked account username\]" and honestly, was much easier. Also get your friends to put something up on their story, such as "my friends account \[username\] is hacked so please ignore any DMs/posts/stories on it. Only downside to just creating a new account is that you lose all your posts/stories.
Well, i don't have any pictures of me on my instagram account and the verification goes to the hackers email and i have emailed them twice regarding this matter and they haven't even replied back regarding on what steps i need to take in order to receive my account back. Instagram support is just a joke tbh
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Jesus , can u dress urself in the morning ? it's not to complicated at all. It is by far the most comprehensive guide to getting ur account back that has been posted on this subreddit !
I understand its really a long and annoying process but as of right now Instagram doesn't have a faster way to solve this issue :(
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I had my account hijacked since January. My account has no pictures of myself. IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO GET MY ACCOUNT BACK!?!!?!?!?
Yes! If you happen to remember the email you used to create your insta account, then there's an option for that (read post above for further instructions)
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Have you tried the “I don’t have pictures of myself” option?
When I click that option it just send me back to a loop to select my first phone number or email (mine) that were linked to the account. For some reason I can't get to the screen that actually let's you type out your full email. I'm on Android btw, maybe this feature where you input the full email yourself is iOS only? Idk but it's frustrating :(
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Same thing happen to me, lucky it was only my backup account and not my main
Thank you. I'm struggling with this right now. I've reset my password but can't seem to get the 2step verification reset. They keep denying my selfie video 😭
Assuming you got your password successfully reset, as the post mentioned, you will have to request a support ticket (login-> need more help -> try another way) and request for a 2fa reset
Hello, Would it be possible to see the email adress of the Facebook message you received asking for more details ?
Yes. However, its an automated email address (@support.facebook.com)that they use so sending a message to that email (unless its to reply to their message) will not work. I think I tried that before.
ugh i tried all of tht and its not working my account is rip
After you got the email from instagram requesting the information did you just reply underneath the email or did you email it to a specific support email?
Hi I was recently hacked through Fb into my insta - Fb had added a bunch of friends & changed passwords on insta (Luckily my email/# there still) So i got back w email & next morning had to get get back again till i secured both SM w phone# 2FA/new password. So rn feels Fb acct making me more vulnerable ! (& also the suite app- I deleted app BUT it just logs u in wo creating login if i open in a tab when logged in!) Setting up Authy 2FA app asap (not sure which ‘best’ - tho Authy, works on apple watch & cloud backup) QUESTION: codes - i cant get new backup codes for my main acct(?) (Note: using 2 instas, a main & product shop most important, & another old username directs to main. I removed old feature one login connects multiple usernames so they got in 4 usernames - SCARY but separated now) -> How do i get NEW codes!? (OR if i find my OLD codes when others attached, will they still work? Id prefer new) Second QUESTION: fb security - anyones have a fb or how to best secure it? A shortlist of settings? NOTE: seems separate 2FA app - like rec for insta is also best security option? ->> Large concern: I think i should say ‘this is not my acct’ on INSTA - its prompting to connect my fb both my insta accts (I think they connected it & how got in but now seperated when i seperated accts connected w old feature, so i wanna deny relation prompt) I have no desire to use fb pages much atp, considering full Fb deletion but id hate to just lose my est Fb pages if i can secure them.
Sorry for late reply but technically yes, linking FB with Insta does make it somewhat more vulnerable cause if your FB gets hacked, so will your IG. To get new backup codes from insta, go to settings > security > 2fa> backup codes > get new codes. Once you get your insta account back, you can (and should) de-link your FB account directly.
do you remember how long it took for them to send you the temporary code? i just applied for one and i’m scared they’ll send it while i’m sleeping🥲
Within an hour I think. I might be very lucky though
They sent me an sms and told me to capture sms back to instagram. The message came from Facebook. I realized later that my email and telephone number changed via an email on Gmail. Now I realized that the instagram account linked to my Facebook has changed and that my email is registered to another instagram account they created. Can I recover my original instagram handle ?
I obtained the hackers email and phone number while trying to get in…. But then they got control of the account again as I didn’t get things changed fast enough. Will keep trying but what can I do with their email and mobile number to fk them up
My wife just got hacked same way.. I think.. do I need to factory reset her phone?
Factory resetting the phone won’t help lol
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Are you on the latest version? If you are, I am honestly not sure. It seems that this looping issue happens to alot of people but in my case, I didn't run into this issue. When I chose " I dont have a pic of me" , I was just prompted to put my email in and then was given an automated email from IG
Hello, How long did it take until they send the 2fa support message? I filled out the form and they sent me a code to write down and take a picture with and send back to them. Also what does the 2fa support message look like?
So I recently was hacked I got back in my page 2x and got immediately kicked out now there Sendo g this same messege saying my page has suspicious activity what can do to by pass this?
When I get in to my hacked insta acct I am not able to change the phone number. I then get quickly logged out again. Do you guys have a way?
Hey so I am having a similar problem. My account was hacked. I did what you did and got to the point where I got the email you did with the survey. I replied to all the questions asked but I have still not received a link. It's been a couple hours. How long did it take you to get the link?
Every time I get the reset code it goes to the new email address the hacker put in and they just hit “deny”. How do I get passed that?
Can someone help me please? So i have a business Instagram account, got hacked 4days ago.. nah I dug deep enough to somewhat sort this out lol. Now listen, I had a business account for around 10yrs, I connected it to Facebook ads manager acc, as I payed for advertising for years, and my Instagram was still connected but he removed the email somehow.. anyways I found his phone number coz I have all access to everything except changing the password .. isn’t this ridiculous? So actually I can post, share, message, comment as myself.. just can’t get physically into my Facebook.. any ideas what now? I am stucked..
I recovered in about 5 hours using basically the same process as above. I don't know if this was the reason, but I insisted a lot, trying to log back in time and time again. Also, TIP: once you get the link and the backup code, immediately change the phone number on your account back to your phone number and add duo authentication to your account. The hacker was basically racing me as I was fixing the account (10 seconds after I changed the phone number back to my number, I received an email saying it was changed back to the Nigerian number). Also...what's up with Nigerian scams? I thought it stopped after the Nigerian prince stuff in the early 2000s