An Aussie business owner has been left heartbroken after waking up to find that six years of hard work had disappeared overnight.
Melbourne local Ayla Akyol runs the thriving business Lash Boss, specialising in eyelash extension training, but she says she’s been left with “nothing” after her business’ Instagram was unexpectedly deleted.
Ms Akyol told news.com.au that the nightmare began just last week on a Friday when she received a text message alerting her that someone was trying to login to her business account.
She followed the link and alerted Meta that it wasn’t her trying to access her account.
Ms Akyol elected not to change her password because she had the two-factor authentication system in place, adding that the message didn’t “concern” her because she’d followed the prompts and trusted that her accounts would be safe.
On Saturday morning, she realised she was wrong.
“The next morning, I woke up and had my coffee and went to check my Instagram, and it was just gone,” she said.
News.com.au has contacted Meta for comment.
The Melbourne local said that she didn’t immediately start to panic, but once she realised her personal Facebook and Instagram were also wiped, the horror set in.
“I woke up to absolutely nothing,” she said.
Ms Akyol immediately began to research what had happened and she realised that she wasn’t just hacked … something far more permanent had happened.
Her business account was verified, but she said she was now “petrified” about what may happen next.
Ms Akyol pays for the Meta business subscription package, which costs $34.99 monthly and confirms the account is authentic and validated.
She said it was tough to even come to the conclusion her account was deleted because, although she pays for a premium account, there isn’t a helpline you can contact if something goes wrong.
The official Lash Boss Instagram account has been deactivated and, while the account can still be seen online with the blue verification tick, it is completely empty and all previous posts have disappeared.
The Melbourne woman had worked on this account for years and successfully amassed over 13,000 followers before it vanished.
“I’ve lost almost seven years of hard work on my Business Instagram account,” she said.
The business owner said it is too soon to “measure” how much not having an Instagram is impacting her business, but her customer base is made up of young women who engage heavily with social media and now she’s not reaching them online.
“Our target audience is young women. [Almost] every single woman has Instagram; it’s hard to put a dollar figure on what that is going to cost for my business,” she said.
Ms Akyol is frustrated because she hasn’t received an email that her account is suspended, and now when she tries to log in to her Instagram account, it says she can’t because she’s under 13.
“Meta have a copy of driver’s license. I’m married, I have two children, and I’m verified,” she said.
She said she’s been feeling “furious” and worried, adding she is concerned she’ll never get her account back and have to start from scratch.
The stress has taken such a toll that she’s beginning to lose her voice.
Sure, a social media account might seem trivial, but in these modern times, it is a lifeline for businesses.
“I’ve been working on it for the last six years. Instagram is really important,” she said.