It’s been a month and a half since Facebook expanded their new advanced security feature, Facebook Protect. Originally rolled out to shield accounts Facebook deemed vulnerable to hackers (think activists, journalists, and government officials), Facebook expanded their new security program to cover accounts with a lot of followers, including celebrities and popular business pages.
Unfortunately, the rollout wasn’t as noticeable or publicized as it should have been. Facebook sent an email, but a lot of recipients mistook it for spam or phishing. Then, once the deadline to turn on Facebook came on, they found their accounts frozen!
Although the story broke a month and a half ago, Facebook users are still frustrated by not being able to access their accounts. If this is you, we’re here to walk you through steps to get your account back. Here’s what to know about Facebook Protect and what to do if not updating froze you out of your Facebook business pages.
Why Facebook Protect?
Short answer: increased hacking and cyberattacks according to Facebook (more specifically Meta) themselves. Originally a program for campaigns and elected officials, Meta designed it for Facebook and Instagram profiles that participate in elections.
From Facebook themselves: “Facebook Protect helps these high-target accounts adopt stronger security protections by simplifying security features like two-factor authentication. It also provides additional security protections for people’s accounts and Pages, including monitoring for potential hacking threats.”
Originally, it was also voluntary. As Meta expanded the program globally, it became less voluntary and more of a requirement.
The vague email
If your business page was flagged as needing more protection – first as a political activist page, and then for pages with tons of followers – you’d receive an email from Facebook prompting you to turn Facebook Protect on. However, the email stated: “Your account requires advanced security” and was from Facebookmail.com.
If you saw this email and thought it was a scam, that would be completely understandable. Per PCMag.com, a good way to check if an email is really from Facebook is to go to Facebook settings, then go to security and login, then check “See recent emails from Facebook.” If the email to switch popped up, it’s from Facebook and you did, indeed, need to turn on Facebook Protect by March 17th or your account would be frozen until you did so.
My account is frozen. Now what?
Facebook has given some steps on how to turn on Facebook Protect. You can find them here.
If you can’t access Facebook Protect, that means the update hasn’t been released to you yet. Try turning on two-factor authentication in the meantime if you think you need extra security. Also, if your page’s following is increasing, be on the lookout for an email from Facebook asking you to turn on Facebook Protect.
If you followed the steps and still can’t access your Facebook business pages, something else could be up. Although it may be a pain in the rear to unfreeze your account (submitting driver’s licenses and affidavits), doing so is 100% worth it.
Moral of the story
Double-check, triple-check, whether Facebook sent you an email by following the handy steps above. We’re restating the outlined steps from PCMag.com again in case you missed them:
- Go to Facebook settings,
- Then go to security and login,
- Then check “See recent emails from Facebook.”
If the email to switch popped up, it’s from Facebook. Switch ASAP to avoid being locked out of your Facebook Business Pages.
Your Facebook page is one of the may ways your customers reach out digitally. Although it may be annoying, ensuring you can regularly engage with your followers is a must. If it’s too much of a headache to check, double-check, moderate, post, and more, we’re your day and night digital marketing team. Contact us today to remove social media from your plate, grow your engagement and followers, and get back to serving your customers.