How to see and remove who has access to your Instagram account

Access to an Instagram account comes in two kinds: people who log in with your password, and people or businesses given access without it. To see the first, open Where you're logged in under Password and security in your Instagram settings and log out any device you do not recognize. For the second, check Shared access in the Instagram app, the people and partners on the account in Meta Business Suite Settings, the Facebook Page it is connected to, and the apps under Website permissions.

Five places to check

1. Logins with your password. Anyone who knows it can log in as you.
2. Shared access. People you invited in the Instagram app to post, comment or run ads without the password.
3. Your business portfolio. People and partners (agencies) given the Instagram account in Meta Business Suite.
4. The connected Facebook Page. Meta says that once an Instagram account is connected to a Page, "anyone with access to either the Page or your Instagram account will be able to manage both assets".
5. Apps and websites you logged into with Instagram or connected to it, such as scheduling and reporting tools.

Go through all five. Removing an agency in one place leaves the others as they were.

Who is logged in to your account

On instagram.com:

1. Click More in the bottom left, then Settings.
2. Click Password and security.
3. Click Where you're logged in. You see recent logins for the accounts in this Accounts Center.
4. To log devices out, click one of your accounts, scroll down and click Select devices to log out.
5. Select the devices and click Log out.

Instagram notes that not everyone has this setting yet. If you do not, go to More > Settings > Login Activity. Click This Was Me for logins you recognize. For one you do not, click This Wasn't Me and follow the steps to reset your password and secure the account. To log a device out there, click More next to the login, then Log out.

People you gave Shared access

In the Instagram app, tap your profile picture, then Menu > Shared access. The screen lists the people you share access with and the invitations you have sent, and Instagram says you can manage and revoke shared access at any time. Instagram offers shared access only to eligible accounts, so this screen may not be there for yours.

On the same screen:

• Account activity shows what people with shared access did on the account, such as posts, comments, likes and follows.
• Inbox access and Story access under Manage are separate switches per person. Turn them off for anyone who should not read your messages or post to your story.

Instagram also says that if you block someone you shared access with, they lose access to your account automatically. From a professional account, people with shared access can also run ads and view insights, so check this list after any agency change.

Business access through a business portfolio

If your Instagram account is in a business portfolio, open Settings in Meta Business Suite for that portfolio. You need full control of the portfolio; full control of the Instagram account alone does not let you edit people's permissions there.

• Partners. Click Partners in the left menu. Both your business and each partner see the shared assets in Settings, so this list shows which agencies have your Instagram account. To remove one, select it, click Options in the top right, then Remove from business portfolio and Remove partner.
• People. Click People, then the person's name. Click Manage next to the Instagram account and choose Remove access. You can also do this from Instagram accounts under Accounts.

If the account is not in your Instagram accounts list at all, it may be in someone else's business portfolio: an Instagram account can only be in one. Then the business that holds it has to remove it; see how to get your Meta assets out of an agency's business portfolio. Meta notes that when an Instagram account is removed from a portfolio, anyone who logs in to Meta Business Suite with that Instagram account's username and password is removed from the portfolio too.

People who reach it through your Facebook Page

Because a connected Page and Instagram account can each be managed by anyone with access to the other, an agency that still has your Page still has a way into the Instagram account. Check the Page with how to see who has access to your Facebook Page, or disconnect the two in the Instagram app (Edit profile > Page > Disconnect Page).

Apps and websites connected to your account

On instagram.com:

1. Click More in the bottom left, then Settings.
2. Below Your app and media, click Website permissions.
3. Click Apps and Websites, then Active.
4. Click Remove next to the app you want to remove.

Instagram lets access expire after 90 days without use for personal accounts set to private, but not for apps with permissions to monitor or manage business and creator accounts. An agency's scheduling or reporting tool can stay Active until you remove it. A removed app can still see your public information and may keep what it stored earlier.

If you ever shared the password

Partner access and Shared access both work without your password, so nobody needs it. If it was ever sent to an agency or a former employee:

1. Log out every device you do not recognize, as above.
2. Change the password. If Login Activity lists a login you do not recognize, This Wasn't Me walks you through resetting it.
3. Give the people who still need access partner access or Shared access instead. See how to give an agency access to Instagram.

If you are unsure whether a request to access your account is genuine, see how to check that an agency access request is real.