MANILA, Philippines – Photo sharing service Instagram is rolling out two-factor authentication in a bid to keep accounts secure and protect its 400 million users from identity theft.

TechCrunch reported Wednesday, February 17, that Instagram confirmed it was beginning the rollout, though it might take a while for everyone on the service to receive the security feature. (READ: Instagram lets users switch between multiple accounts)

Two-factor authentication on Instagram will work by connecting your account to a phone number. Any time you log into your account with your credentials, you’ll then get a text message with an authentication code. Inputting the code will complete the login process.

Instagram – whose parent company is Facebook – is an odd duck in the case of security for accounts, as more services push for two-factor authentication and other security measures.

Facebook itself introduced two-factor authentication to its site back in 2011, though during that time, Facebook and Instagram were separate companies. – Rappler.com

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