This story requires our BI Prime membership. To read the full article,is sending warnings to users of popular social media management services telling them their accounts have been"compromised."
But the companies in question strongly deny any wrongdoing, and argue that Instagram has made a mistake.Some of the biggest social media management apps around are getting caught up in Instagram's attempts to crack down on rule-breaking and malicious behaviour.
Reached for comment, a Facebook spokesperson did not say whether the messages were a mistake. In a statement, they said:"Automated activities, like creating or accessing accounts, go against our policies. We're doing a detailed review of third party apps to combat these behaviors. As a precaution, we've also asked people who may have given their Instagram credentials to apps to change their passwords.
Buffer spokesperson Hailley Griffis said that the company has heard of about 200 cases of the issue happening, and that it has reached out to Facebook about it."As a partner, we have been approved by Facebook/Instagram and operate within their Community Standards. We do not support the purchase of likes or followers," they said.
They said they were still in the process of investigating what caused the messages, and reiterated in a statement that the messages appear if a user gives their login details to a third-party service .