Getting hacked and losing everything that has been worked for is a jammer’s worst fear. Our community has lost many loyal players due to their accounts being hacked. Fortunately, there are some tips and tricks that can be used to make it harder for your Animal Jam account to be hacked. 

The Basics

Let’s start with basics! First off, your password for ANYTHING should never be simple. Your password should be as long as you think you should make it. You need to include uppercase letters along with symbols ($, %, &, #). The symbols make it harder for hackers to crack your password. This step is essential! If you do not have a complex password, the following will most likely not help you prevent your account from being hacked. 

Many players over the years have been hacked through their parent dashboard. My recommendation would be to use an email for your dashboard that is not associated with ANY other account on the internet. You want your email to be just for Animal Jam so that it is untraceable from other websites. But, don’t forget that your parent dashboard password needs to be long and complex as well. Do NOT use the same password as your Animal Jam account. If something were to happen, you want to be the only one to have access to your parent dashboard.

There is nothing wrong with taking extra precaution. When you log out of Animal Jam, you can always “lock” your account so nobody will be able to login. You may do so by logging into your parent dashboard and by where it says “Account Enabled:” switch it to “off”. You will know it is off if it is red. You will always be able to enable your account. A common misconception is that fear of not being able to unlock your account. As long as you have access to your parent dashboard, you may lock and unlock your account as much as you would like. Once you are ready to log into Animal Jam, you can log back into your dashboard and just unlock your account! 

Stranger Danger!

Adults in your life have probably told you to not trust strangers. The same concept pertains to online. The internet is a scary place and there is a reason why many websites and social medias require an age minimum to join. Animal Jam is targeted towards children which is an opportunity for most hackers to take advantage of that situation. Never click any links from someone you do not know. Links can be very dangerous for numerous reasons. Hackers may use links as a way to obtain your personal information, or as a way to gain access to your Animal Jam account. No matter what a stranger says a link is for, do not click it. In situations like these, it is better to be safe than sorry. 

What Else Can I Do?

Although Animal Jam does not have two-factor authentication available for users, many social media platforms do! Most jammers in our community use Instagram. If you are worried about someone gaining access to your Instagram account, turn on two-factor authentication. When you go to login, a code will be sent to your phone number or to a designated app (you have the option of which you prefer) and you will need to type in that code in order to continue to login to your account. If anybody who is not you gains access to your Instagram, they will not be able to login because they cannot receive the code! 

I hope some of these tips stuck with you and I do hope that they can protect a lot of jammers. If you listen to these tips and continue to be cautious online, your odds of being hacked will be depleted. Please be safe and remember to always trust your gut feeling!