Facebook and Instagram allow you to see what devices you are connected to, so you can check if you have been accessed from unknown devices
Social profiles are very much in demand by hackers looking for personal data, because if a hacker manages to breach our Facebook profile, for example, they can immediately access all our profiles on sites we are logged into via that profile as well.
The big social networks try to protect the profiles of their users by intercepting abnormal access attempts. It will happen to many, for example, to receive an email from one of the social networks to which we are subscribed that warns us of an attempt to access from countries such as China, Thailand or other places where we have never been. In other cases, the email warns us that the login attempt was made with a device other than the ones we usually use. Maybe we are Apple fans and the login attempt is coming from an Android smartphone, or vice versa. In these cases it's clear that someone is trying to hack our profile, or perhaps has already succeeded, and therefore it is essential to proceed immediately to change the password and set, if we have not already done so, the two-factor authentication. But it is also very useful, every now and then, to check all the devices through which we are connected to social networks. Here's how to do it on Facebook and Instagram.
How to check the devices connected to Facebook
The most convenient way to check all the devices through which we are connected to Facebook is to visit our profile via the web version of the social. From Settings we should choose "Security and Access", where we will find the "Where are you logged in" tab. Here the devices from which we have recently used Facebook are indicated and, for each device, we are also told the operating system, time and geolocation. All this information is useful to understand if there has been some anomalous access, if in practice it wasn't us.
It may happen, however, that every now and then a connection from an "Unknown device type" results, with attached location and time. If we don't recognize this device (Facebook can't always track the exact device) we can click on the three dots on the right and choose "Exit". That session will be interrupted and two things can happen: if it was us, we will be asked to re-enter Facebook from one of our devices, if it wasn't us, someone else will be kicked out of our Facebook profile. If we are not asked to re-enter Facebook from any of our regular devices, then, better change password.
How to check the devices connected to Instagram
Also on Instagram, in the settings, there is a page called "Access Activity" from which we can check all the accesses to our profile. In this case, however, the information available is less clear: there is the date and place, but many devices are referred to generically as "Device". However, by cross-referencing the place and time when an access was made, it is possible to understand if someone is trying to sneak into our Instagram profile. For each access we can confirm "It was me" or deny: "It wasn't me". In the second case Instagram will advise us to change the password to protect the account.