Instagram - followers

[BlossomBuddy]

Hi, this is my first post. I’ve had a work colleague leave on Friday, and my IT department has deactivated her email but allowed me access to it, so that I can monitor any important messages. I’ve looked today and there are some emails from Instagram, which I looked at, and to my shock, all the suggested followers are people in either my address book or people I follow on Instagram, they have no connection with the person that has left! The account seems legit, uses the persons work email address and date of birth, no followers or following anyone. Just a long list of all my contacts or people I follow on instagram, some that have been on my contact list for years, some as recent as yesterday? I’m a bit shaken, I’m a private person, never post on SM etc etc. Does anyone have any idea how this could have happened? Thank you

Are you also on instagram? I think the stalky fucker that is the instagram algorithm suggests friends of friends, so the most optimistic scenario is that there is no more to it than that 🙄. But more likely, instagram is ferreting around in your online life. Kind of par for the course unfortunately - our data is the prize after all.

Thank you for replying. I am on Instagram but it has no links to my work, work email etc, all of my details are my home email account. I’ve never logged onto Insta on my work email, and I am not a contact with this person, or we do we have any shared contacts. It’s so strange, it’s suggesting contacts that are years old, and just a phone number, but also people that I do follow on Insta (none are contacts of mine, just music, shops etc). I’m just a bit worried, as it seems to be that this colleague has access to my info somehow?

It won’t be your colleague directly accessing your data. You’d be shocked to know how few data points tech companies need to profile you and to link your work and home email addresses etc. no matter how ‘private’ you think you keep things. I wouldn’t worry too much about your ex colleague OP (it’s more about the reach of Big Tech).