Ask the Collective

How can you recover access to a hacked company Facebook or Instagram account after extended periods of being locked out?

Account recovery after hacking can be extremely difficult, especially after months or years of lockout. Members report that standard Meta support routes are largely unhelpful, but there are a few potential paths: - **Internal Meta contacts** — If you know someone who works at Meta/Facebook personally (not necessarily in a customer-facing role), they can escalate cases through an internal system called "Oopps" that can help restore access. This appears to be the most effective option members have found. - **Meta Verified badge** — Paying for account verification may enable access to a real support person, though there is reportedly a queue for this service. - **Starting fresh** — Several members have resigned themselves to creating new Instagram and Facebook accounts due to the difficulty of recovery, though this means losing followers, history, and pixel/Shopify integrations. **Caveats:** Members emphasized that Meta's backend support system is severely limited and appears to have no reliable standard process for account recovery despite having registration documents and email addresses as proof of ownership. The company's handling of hacking issues is widely viewed as inadequate. Having business payments and ad spend history does not appear to accelerate recovery. If you lack a personal connection at Meta, your options are very limited.