Want to change your Instagram username?
Of all the social media platforms, Instagram makes this the easiest.
Perhaps you’re changing your business direction, as I am. Or maybe you’re able to get a name that matches what you have on other platforms.
Is it all fun-and-games, done it two seconds?
Not hardly. Here’s what to consider before changing.
Please read to the end so you know what to expect before deciding!
You’ll Change Your Instagram Username in All These Places
First off, if you’ve had your Instagram account for any length of time, and you’re active in promoting it, you’ve got that link posted in a lot of places.
I ran a search of my blog posts and was surprised to find over a dozen links.
I actually found a LOT over a dozen, but I had the same “howtographics” username on my Facebook page, so that showed up too. That’s a whole ‘nother (and more complicated) story – read about changing your Facebook username if you want to do that.
You’ve probably linked your Instagram account in at least one sidebar, header, or footer widget (I had 3).
If you’ve guest posted, consider whether you left links there, and if you can access them to make the change. The last thing you want is to impress that blog’s audience, then send them to a dead page!
If you’ve linked to Instagram from other social accounts, you’ll need to update those too.
You may have saved a Pin on Pinterest with a link to your Instagram profile – you can change the URL on the Pin (but it won’t populate to repins).
If you have a separate Instagram account, you might have dropped a link there. Or on your Twitter profile. Find ’em all!
Check your email signature, as well as any printed materials – business cards, brochures, anything else? These will need to be addressed 😉 first.
Will my old Instagram URL redirect to my new URL?
Is your account currently appearing on search engines like Google?
Your username inside Instagram will change (including old @mentions), but any URLs outside of the app will not redirect.
If they’re on your own website and social, follow the steps below. If others have linked to you, see if you can get them to update.
I don’t believe there’s a way to ask Google to reindex a page on a domain you don’t own. It may take time for search engines to discover the new account URL.
According to a reader:
I’ve noticed that changing your username somehow doesn’t update on google? As in, your new username won’t show up in search engines. At least for me?
But I’ve only recently (these past 1-2 weeks) changed it, so it may be too soon…
Give it time. Since Instagram is a top-ranked domain, Google will eventually find your new account name / URL.
The more active your account is, the more likely Google will index it.
What about previous mentions of my username on Instagram?
In my experience, these changed to the new name. But everything on social media is subject to change at any moment.
A reader commented:
I have not found it to be true that old mentions change to your new username. I tried reinstalling the app, and it goes to a new account I created temporarily with the old username in attempt to redirect people to me new one. Does it take a certain amount of time?
Here’s the thing: if you create another account with the old username, it may never change! Now that the username exists again, what would be the reason for Instagram to redirect it?
If you have not reused the old username and are still seeing it on IG, I believe it’s because you’re seeing a cached version of the posts. You might ask a friend who hasn’t looked at your posts to tell you which name they see.
Can I reuse the Instagram username I want to change from?
I understand that I can change my profile name on IG, but I’m worried about the old name NOT becoming available immediately in order to use that name for my business pics and profile name. I’d be upset if I lost the name. Do you have any info as how long IG turns over lost names?
The answer is a definite maybe. Do not move forward with the change if you can’t lose that name.
Some previously-used usernames are never made available again. Keep the name if you want it!
If you decide to move forward, work on the things you can control – read on for the timeline.
Timeline for Changing Your Instagram Username
Now that you’ve figured out where you’ve placed your old username, it’s time to prepare.
Before investing time or money in the following steps, ensure that you have the option to change your username! Then proceed.
Most steps are optional and some may not apply to you. Use your best judgement. These are suggestions only.
- Printed materials? Get ready to order new ones ASAP.
- Post a heads-up on your Instagram account that you’ll be changing your name. Explain why. (I received such a positive response!) You might do this a couple times over a few days, at different times of day. You can remove these posts later if you like.
- Reach out to blogs where you’ve guest posted and request the change, if you don’t have admin privileges to do it yourself.
- Prepare an image to post on Instagram when you do the name change (and new logo/avatar if needed).
- Set aside one to several hours (depending on how much you need to change) to do steps 6 to 9 in quick succession.
- Open all the blog posts, widgets, and social media accounts that you need to change in separate tabs. Enter the change, but don’t save/update yet.
- Go into your Instagram profile and make the change.
- If needed, upload a new Instagram profile picture.
- Post your prepared image and inform your followers.
- Save all changes waiting from previous step.
- Change your email signature.
- If desired, inform followers on your other social accounts, blog, and email list of your change.
Pin the checklist as a reminder! (Then read on…)
Here’s the Bummer You Didn’t Expect
I’m pretty sure that after I changed my username, Instagram somehow suppressed my posts. All I know is, my post likes dropped by more than 50%.
For example, I don’t think I’ve ever posted a graphic with a cat on it that got less than 100 likes. The one I posted a few days after the name change? 36 likes. Boo!
Or maybe my new username of LouiseMcom isn’t as intriguing as my previous?
Hopefully things will change as my new name builds credibility. I’ll keep you posted.
UPDATE: No worries, my likes are back up and I’m regularly getting over 100 likes on many of my posts.
But There IS Some Good News…
All the @mentions of your old username will switch to the new one. If you’re still seeing the old username, Instagram says it’s a caching issue:
If you edit your username and continue to see your old username within the app, you’re likely experiencing a caching issue. We cache certain images and text to make the app run faster.
Keep in mind that you’re the only person seeing your old, cached username. Eventually, your old username will be completely cleared out of our system. If you’d like the old username to disappear immediately, however, you can uninstall and reinstall the app to clear your cache. source
Will YOU Change Your Instagram Username?
Sometimes, you gotta do it. I think I would have, even if I’d known about the drop in likes.
My old name just didn’t suit me any more. While I DO provide graphics advice, I really wanted to move on – and changing that username was part of the process.
If you decide to do it, sooner is better than later. Just be prepared.
I’d love to hear if you’ve done it and what your results were! Please share any tips you’ve learned for changing your Instagram username.
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Dustin Lindblad says
Hi Louise,
Helpful article. Thanks for sharing. Do you happen to know if one changes the instagram name if all previous links to pictures on facebook will automatically update or will they be lost?
Thanks!
Louise Myers says
That’s a great question. I don’t have a definite answer, because I changed the account that posts to my Facebook page, which doesn’t provide links back to IG. Only personal profiles do.
However, since the IG photo URLs don’t include a username, I suspect they’ll be fine.
Sara says
When you change your username, can you delete old comments from the previous one? Or will they just be left there forever, people thinking that’s still you. Or does the username on those comments change with it?
Louise Myers says
In my experience, previous mentions of my username changed. But everything on social media is subject to change at any moment.
If you have comments you want to delete, you could do it before changing, because I don’t know if you can after. But it’s very rare that anyone will look at a post that’s more than a few days old, anyway.
Leon says
Cheers for that, you’ve ticked every box here. I’m going through a transition myself, I was forced to start a music photography business prematurely, so just threw something together. Not happy with it so looking to rebuild, took down old non performing posts, might repost as TBTs. @tba_studios get on quick before I change it, no idea when that will be, can’t think of a good one. Help?
Dustin Lindblad says
Thanks for your quick reply. I’ll keep you posted how this works out.
Rita says
I’m curious Dustin, how did that work out?
Mei says
I’ve noticed that changing your username somehow doesn’t update on google? As in, your new username won’t show up in search engines. At least for me?
But I’ve only recently (These past 1-2 weeks) changed it, so it may be too soon… I’m unsure.
Louise Myers says
It may take awhile for changes to be noted by Google.
Chelsea says
Hi, will my old Instagram URL redirect to new URL?
Thanks
Louise Myers says
No, it will not. Your username inside Instagram will change (including old @mentions), but any URLs outside of the app will not redirect.
If they’re on your own website and social, follow my tips in the article. If others have linked to you, see if you can get them to update.
Angela says
I have not found it to be true that old mentions change to your new username. I tried reinstalling the app, and it goes to a new account I created temporarily with the old username in attempt to redirect people to me new one. Does it take a certain amount of time?
Louise Myers says
If you’re seeing the old username, I believe it’s because you’re seeing a cached version of the posts. And I’ve noticed that Instagram’s caching has gotten extreme recently! As in, I don’t see recent comments in the feed, I have to click through as if making a comment.
Regarding the username issue though, you might see if you can get a friend who hasn’t looked at your posts to tell you which name they see.
John says
If I change my name what happens to all my old posts? Will they appear under my new name? (Many of them no longer exist on my phone)
Louise Myers says
Everything in your account should stay the same, except for your name. I can still scroll back to my very first post over 2 years ago.
Kyle says
Hello, I have found using my IG account as both my personal and work are starting to become one. I think its time to separate them. I understand that I can change my profile name on IG that’s fine as those are all my personal pics. but I’m worried about the old name NOT becoming available immediately in order to use the old name for my business pics and profile name. I’d be upset if I lost the name. Do you have any info as how long IG turns over lost names?
Louise Myers says
My understanding is that previously-used user names are not ever made available again. Keep the name if you want it!
John says
Hi, thank you for the great post. I want to change my username because I want a new one that could be easier to remember and more distinctive than the current one.
I recently started on instagram but I used an old username that I created a couple years ago and my account is growing more faster than I thought so, I want to change it in order to be more recognizable. I am afraid to lose my recent feedback and likes cause just a month ago I started to gain above 100 likes on each post. I dont want to lose that.
What do you suggest? Creating a new account or just following the instructions you mentioned before.
Louise Myers says
I (personally) wouldn’t create a new account because I’d have to build followers from scratch. It’s really your choice though.
Paul Fletcher says
Hi Louise,
I seem to have experienced the suppression after a name change. I have had an instagram account for a while but hardly used it (dj_fbus). Mid August, encouraged by photographer friends I started sharing my photographs and was typically getting 20-80 likes a post (which for a newbie I was very happy with). On Sept 1st I decided to change from dj_fbus to djfbus to align with my twitter username. Since then post likes have fell to almost zero 🙁 and also I no longer appear in hashtag searches (yet previous still posts do). Weird. I hope this is just a temporary suppression like you describe with your change. I’m holding off with posting better shots until it seems to work again, how long was the (apparent) suppressed period for you? thanks Paul
Louise Myers says
Hi Paul,
I can’t be sure if it actually happened or it was just what and when I was posting. Two days after my name change I had a post with 104 likes, which was good at that time. It was up and down a lot back then…
There are so many algorithms on IG now that it’s really hard to say what’s going on. I hope it gets fixed for you soon!
Tanya Leech says
Hi Louise
I’d like to amend my NAME on Instagram by adding the words Interior Design after my name. I DON’T intend to change my USERNAME. Will this be OK and not mess up the links to my IG account that my professional web developers have set up?
thanks so much
Tanya
Louise Myers says
Hi Tanya,
Good call on changing the name in your bio. No, that doesn’t affect any links.
Nishant says
Thank you so much for this post. It was quite informative. I am a photographer and was looking to change my Instagram handle to better reflect my brandname. The answers on Quora site were quite confusing. And didn’t find much information the effects of changing username on Instagram portal too. I just changed it from @nishantlens (made in hurry years back) to @nishantratnakar (my name, as well as the brand name in photography business). Thanks louise!
Louise Myers says
I’m happy to hear it helped, Nishant!
Deetya Jain says
Hello 🙂 its a great feed….Can you please let me know whether if current follower count gets affected or remains intact if i change user name ?
Louise Myers says
Your followers stay!
Erin Dvorachek says
Anyone having recent trouble with this? I changed a client’s *new* account name from “official” to “band” about 2 weeks ago and there are now TWO separate accounts, each with different #s of who we follow and the followers. Can anyone help?
Louise Myers says
I’ve never heard of this… I’d suggest using the “Report a Problem” setting in both of the accounts.
Erin Dvorachek says
I actually can’t get in the original account anymore, so that’s even odder! I’ll report the problem via the other. Thanks!!
Belle says
Hi Louise!
Thanks for the really helpful post! There’s just one more thing I’m confused about. I was planning to claim my old username in another account so that I can redirect people who’ve seen my username outside of IG and are trying to find me. But from your answers on this post, it seems my old username won’t become available after I change? Can you clarify for me?
Thanks again for doing this post. I’ve been trying to find a comprehensive post about this for a while.
Louise Myers says
Hi Belle,
Well, I just tried and was able to pick up my old account name.
It might be just names from accounts Instagram has closed that are frozen. I sure can’t guarantee it though!
CC says
I changed my username after only a couple of posts in the app on my iphone. When I log on to Instagram from my laptop (to access additional photos) it has my old user name and no posts. When I go to edit my profile to my new name it says it is already taken. How can I fix this so I can post from either laptop or iPhone?
Thank you in advance!
Louise Myers says
I haven’t heard of this issue with two different usernames, so I don’t know how to fix it. However, you can’t post via instagram.com on desktop anyway. Stick with the phone app. It may be just a caching issue on the website that will fix itself shortly.
Samantha says
Thank you for this post! I really want to change my username to something shorter (and easier) but I’m so worried about the drop in likes. How long did it take for your likes to go back to normal?
Louise Myers says
Two to three weeks, but there was actually a high-like post 2 days after the name change. So it could have been the content!
While I don’t want to sway you one way or the other, I’d encourage you to think long-term.
Joshua says
If i change my instagram username will it automatically unlike previously liked posts?
Louise Myers says
No, it does not.
Shivani says
Hi Louise
I wish I had read this post earlier. My company was rebranded to a new name and in order to block all new name handles we created a new IG account in the new name. I was reading on how to transfer my existing posts and followers to this new handle and came across this post. Now that I own two separate IG handles registered under two separate email accounts, how do I merge them? Should I delete the ‘new name’s account entirely and then just edit the username on my old IG account? I wonder if you have come across such a problem
Louise Myers says
I haven’t heard of a way to merge IG accounts. I can’t guarantee that deleting the account with the name you want will make that name available again.
Sorry that I can’t help. I wish you luck!
Kyla says
Hi Louise!
My facebook app has 2 logged-in accounts, one’s mine and other is my fiance’s. I posted a pic on my account on Instagram and i purposely showed it to my Fiance’s fb page(so it’s understood that it’s his fb account that’s linked to my Ig).
But, just this morning I figured out that my Name (not username) was changed it his name. And my number as well from instagram private info. I thought it was changed by him, but he didn’t open my account so no one manually changed it (I was thinking).
On the other hand, is it possible that it was hacked or whatever? or It’s just that Facebook and Instagram purposely filled my name and contacts? (Because it was just blank before this happened)
Thank you if you respond! Great article btw <3
Louise Myers says
Hi Kyla,
I have to say I have no idea. I’ve never heard of this before. If the password wasn’t changed and nothing weird is going on (pictures deleted, new link and/or photos) then I doubt it was hacked.
If it was blank, it’s most likely FB was trying to help you out by adding a name.
Jenn Perron says
Hi! Thanks for this article and all the helpful responses.
Wonder if you have an info on this scenario….
I currently have 7k follower on @account1.
I currently own and have no followers on @account2.
I want to switch name @account1 to @account2 – thus having 7k followers on @account2.
I don’t want to lose username @account1 – therefore want to switch this username to what was formerly @account2.
So,
> @account1 becomes @account2 (with original 7k followers)
> @account2 becomes @account1 (with original 0 followers)
Hope this makes sense!
Do you know if this is possible?
Thank you!
J.
Louise Myers says
I don’t know, Jenn. If you look at the recent comments, I recall someone saying they closed one account and used the name on another account. But the rules change all the time, and you run the risk of shutting the account whose name you want to use on another account, and having IG freeze the name.
It’s almost certain that you can’t switch names. No idea how you’d even attempt that.
Eraj says
Hi Lousie.
I want to change my instagram URL as I have some security issues. Some people have copied the link and I don’t wanna loose my account as I want them to never access my URL. Is it possible. I’d be grateful if u explain
Louise Myers says
You’re trying to have people that know your current URL not be able to see your account? The only way I know of to block people from your account is setting it as private. With a new name, they can always find you again.
Zenus Saleh says
I have changed my Instagram user to “drzenus_saleh” over 1 month ago. Still, my old account is showing when searching in Google. Any ideas on how long it needs for the cache to clear?
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I don’t know.
Meytal says
Hi Louise, thank you for this. I have a major issue. I want to rebrand my current Instagram name to a new name that I own (on Instagram). I have the name that I want, that’s not the problem. I need to change my existing name, to the other name on my inactive account. Since it is mine, there must be away for me to do it. If I close the account, the name will still not become available, correct? I need some sort of contact at Instagram to help me, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to put the dormant name I own to my existing and active account. Any leads for this?
Louise Myers says
The name might become available – the one I changed from eventually did, and I set up another account with it. But I can’t say if or when your name might become available, if you close that account. It’s a gamble. Always a chance someone else could take it before you do, too.
If you run ads, then you might have an ad manager who might be willing to help. Otherwise, there’s no incentive for them to help, even if you could figure out how to contact them. FB doesn’t like people changing account names, as they feel it may be done with an intent to mislead people. But at least they have an avenue to appeal for a name change – however you have to provide legal proof that your business name has changed.
Nima says
I was thinking to change my insta username, but I ha no clue that what is going to happen to my account. Thank you for sharing this useful information.
Nick says
I changed my instagram username about a year ago. However if I look at old pics that friends have of me from the past. My old username still appears in the caption of those posta. Does the username change only apply to comment mentions or photo captions as well? The tagged ones did change but not the @ within photo captions. I have asked other friends to look through their accounts and they too see my old username in older photo captions
Louise Myers says
That’s interesting! All I know is the info I included from IG, which doesn’t mention captions vs comments.
kristina says
Hi Louise.. such a great and informative article. Thanks for sharing your insight.
I have a more strategic question. I have a simple private account with only 180 followers , how cute I know. And am just launching my own brand. Im unsure if I should just keep my private account private , and start all over with a different brand user \ profile name for my company, Or switch my profile name to my brand name, hence keeping my current followers…
also then my new brand account would still have some old posts from private life.. but I personally have no problem with that.
Any thoughts?
thanks so much!!!
Louise Myers says
Really up to you. I have a separate account for “fun” stuff. In my bio I direct people to my “biz” account and pick up a few followers that way.
I would only make the switch if you’re sure you won’t annoy your current followers. If they’re really only interested in your personal stuff, they’ll either unfollow or never interact. Either is bad for your account.
Tressa says
hey, this is kind of a weird question so I don’t know if you’ll be able to answer it but, if you change your Instagram username, will your account pop up if people search your old name?
Louise Myers says
My guess is no.
Sr Paulsen says
Actually yes it does.
Bilal naseer says
I need to change my Instagram username bilal_danisha to Bilal01
Hannah says
hi, I wish to change my instagram username because I made it when I was young and no longer like it. BUT i do not want to lose my @tags photos that are under my profile. Would changing my under name get rid of all of the my previous tags in photos (that used my previous username) or would those tags within the photos change to the new username I created? Thanks!!
Louise Myers says
Mine moved over with me, but I can’t guarantee that’s still the case.
Natalie says
I’m thinking about changing my username for personal reasons but I’m wondering about the affects doing that will have on my account. Will changing my username delete any of my previous posts, or lose followers? And if someone tries to find me by my old username does instagram automatically send them to the new account? Lastly, if someone has mentioned me in comments, or tagged me in photos, will the username change? Or take them to the account with the new username? I’m not really concerned about any possible like drops though.
Thank you .
Louise Myers says
Delete posts? No
Lose followers? No (unless they don’t recognize you and unfollow)
Redirect to new account? No
Tags in comments? Mine changed. Read section “But There IS Some Good News…” in the article above.
Tagged photos stayed on my “Photos of You” page.
Hillary says
Hi Louise, I want to make sure the “Good news” section is true. From all my research and the link to your source, it doesn’t confirm that previous mentions of @oldname automatically switch to @newname. The source you linked to seems to suggest that once you change it, your account may not show it right away. But that has nothing to do with tags. Can you confirm that all previous mentions of @oldname switched to @newname? The more I research the more I see that people recommend signing up for a new account under @oldname (after you’ve switched) and putting a post that sends people to your @newname bc all mentions of @oldname will go to whoever picks up that handle next. Can you confirm? Much appreciated!
Louise Myers says
Hi Hillary,
It’s impossible to confirm anything when it comes to social media, as it’s constantly changing.
But certainly, NEW mentions of your old username should go to the person who picks up the username. They WON’T redirect.
What I said was that PREVIOUS mentions of the old username changed. This is what happened for me, and the source cited in the post is Instagram. But I can’t guarantee that this will happen today or at any time in the future.
If you can pick up your old username, you might do that. Just know that people will get notifications that “Hillary is on Instagram as @oldusername.” Some will follow without checking your profile. This is happening to me with my old name.
Alex says
Hi Louise – great post, really thorough! I know you’ve just said this above in the comment but I wanted to clarify for certainty’s sake: for you the written @xxx mentions of your name in posts and comments etc by other people on the platform DID change? There’s such mixed information out there about it! But if it worked for you I don’t see why it would have been removed as a feature since.
There’s a lot of interlinking in the little community I have on Insta and it would be a pity to lose the history of that, but my name is no longer really relevant… decisions decisions!
Alex says
(by which I mean historic mentions of course)
Louise Myers says
Mine did, but I think you should approach the decision by what’s best going forward – in case this doesn’t happen.
Jennifer says
This article was awesome. I always thought Insta username cannot be changed!
Simon says
Hi since I’ve changed my username on instagram my likes have dropped significantly, is this normal and why would changing my username affect it like this? Ive reported this issue to instagram and they have not bothered to reply.
If i knew changing my username would have an effect I wouldn’t have done changed it, I would appreciate some advice thanks.
Louise Myers says
Likes are dropping for everyone, so it may not be related.
Zane says
Hi, thanks for the post! I am wondering-if drop of likes is obligatory think with change of username, does it takes time or count of posts to get back in track? I mean, does count of likes grows back with certain time or it take *X* posts…
I know you did had answer when wrote the post, but maybe someone else can say how long time and posts it took to be back.
Thanks!
Adam Samsonov says
I am using instagram for business and want to change the username in 6 months due to a business name change. I was told that if an account changes their username it will be forever excluded from instagram’s trending page. I just want to know if that is true before we decide to change our name?
Louise Myers says
That seems odd. Where did you hear this?
Honoree says
I’m changing/ rebranding from Honoree Tigrett “trinity_prep” to Crush it Like a Girl Boss. The change has been a change in focus- before I blogged about homeschooling and learned SEO, AdWords, Analytics and the Like for the purpose of blogging. Now I do freelance Digital Marketing and am known as an influencer under those subjects, Not homeschooling.
Thanks for the advice.
Louise Myers says
Best of luck Honoree!
Ady says
Hi Louise!
Thank you for this article.
I recently changed my Instagram handle and I’m experimenting a huge drop in my posts likes… how long did it take for your number of likes to be back to normal?
Also, I used to get between 50 and 150 new followers each day. But since I changed my username, I barely get 10 new followers a day. Do you think it has something to do with the username change?
Thanks!
Louise Myers says
I think about a month or two – but it was so long ago, things may be different now. And likes and engagement are on decline regardless.
Both likes and follower declines could be related to name change, and/or to bots that targeted your previous username.
Kim says
Hello Louise
Just searched your old username “howtographics” and noticed its still active and that there is a link in the bio to go to your new account “louisemcom. When you changed your Instagram name does it automatically create a new account for you and transfer over your followers or did you have to start from scratch reminding your followers to follow the new account?
Louise Myers says
I later opened a new account with the username “howtographics.” IG does not create another account, it only changes the name on the account – your followers, gallery, profile etc stay intact. You are only changing the name.
Ricki says
Hi Louise, how much later was it that you opened the account using your old name? Someone has very kindly deleted an account they hadn’t used for three years so that I could use their username for my business, and I’m wondering how long I might need to wait to see if the name has become available again.
Louise Myers says
I don’t remember, but their policy towards releasing previously used names could (and has) changed at any moment. It could also vary depending on how long the account was active or unused, how much it was used, and for what purposes. I suspect some account names are never released, because I’ve looked for accounts where a name is unavailable but no one is using it.
Ricki says
Thanks Louise, looks like I might have to wait and see. Thank you for a very useful article.
Ricki says
Just thought I would post an update to let you know that the username I wanted became available two weeks after the original owners deleted their account.
Louise Myers says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know.
Sinclair says
Thank you for posting this Louise! I need to make a change to using my own name to represent my art business, but in a way that makes sense for both existing and (hopefully) new followers. I now know how!
Louise Myers says
Great to hear, Sinclair.
Paul says
Hi I changed my username but the instagram says that username dissent exist, the feed on my six site doesn’t acknowledge the new name which i changed over a month ago but will still post from the old but you don’t see any of the new posts?
Very confused?
Thanks
Paul
Louise Myers says
Yeah, I can’t quite figure out what’s going on here.
Megan says
Hello Louise,
Thanks for this! I just changed my name on IG to reflect my real name, rather than a cute handle I had selected 7 years ago that now seems outdated.
I noticed the same thing that you mentioned: I typically get a lot of likes pretty quickly (more than 100) but right now it seems like nobody is seeing the image. I know it’s a quality image so it’s gotta be something to do with the system.
How long did it take you to recuperate your likes?
Thanks so much,
Megan
Louise Myers says
Probably a couple months.
Mandan says
Hello if I want to change my Instagram account name. Will it be free and accessible now for someone else to get it and use it if they like or would the old still belong to me? Thank you
Louise Myers says
The old name won’t belong to you. Whether and when it will be released is uncertain.
Alex says
Hi Louise
thank you for your impressive comments and blog here.
what if you are a verified user on instagram, and then you decided to change your name, will instagram disqualify this verification or once youre verified it wont change even if you changed your instagram username ?
Louise Myers says
It’s so hard to get verified that I wouldn’t risk it. They don’t reveal why or why not an account could be verified so I doubt you’ll find a 100% certain answer to this.
Mandan says
Thank you for this article. If an influencer account with over 20k followers changes account name will the followers still see the new account? Is it not recommended to change. I’m thinkjng long term. How does name change affect an influencer account? Thank you
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I have no experience in changing influencer account names so I have no idea.
Mandan says
Sorry also if an influencer changes the account name and announce few days before that the name will be changing wouldn’t that give reason for someone to take the old name as it has value to it?
Louise Myers says
IG doesn’t always release names that have been used in the past.
Kristi says
What do you think about instagram bot?
Louise Myers says
I think they’re the scourge of Instagram. They break the terms of use and should never be used. If an account has left a spammy bot comment or DM on my account, I report them.
Of course, I removed the name of the one you probably hoped to draw attention to.
Brenda I Cisneros says
Hi, great tips! I saw your article while looking to redirect my old instagram url to he new one, now I know I can’t 🙁 I just changed my username yesterday and I ‘ve been seen down in likes, but I’m using my old username as a hashtag, I hope it helps.
Louise Myers says
If you used that hashtag before and your audience is aware of it (and especially if they use it themselves) then that should help.
Tamara N Varella says
Hello! I have a question about changing an IG name. I want to change my current account to my actual government name. However, I want to start a seperate IG page with my old IG name. When I change my current IG name to my government name, will i be able to access the old name to move to a new account? or is it lost?
Louise Myers says
There’s really no way to know if and when they might release a previously used name. Some seem to be never released. It would be better to start a new account with the new name.
Noah R says
Hello, I was dumb enough to think about changing my name..In the longrun I didn’t like it so I changed it back.
My likes after that dropped drastically, from about 80 to about 20…what is going on
Louise Myers says
Hopefully the likes will return to normal. But “normal” seems to be a smaller number as time goes on, regardless.
Noah R says
I’m now also losing tons of followers..From getting at least 20 overnight to losing 10 overnight.
D’you think Instagram has “shadowbanned” me?
Louise Myers says
The term “shadowbanned” is used to refer to not being seen in hashtag feeds. I’ve never heard of IG deleting your followers, unless they’re doing a general cleanup of spam accounts.
Ivana Maťašovská says
Hi, I have a problem with adding my Instagram account to my Facebook page in the section About – Contact details … It says: Usernames cannot be URLs. Please specify the username for your account. I have changed my IG username, I have re-connected my Fb with IG, I am able to share my IG posts on my Fb page, but I am not able to change it in my contact information on my Fb page. Can you help me or give some advice? Thanks for the answer.
Louise Myers says
I just did it and it worked fine for me. Just make sure you’re only putting in the username, not instagram.com/username
Mirabel says
you’re so right.
my instagram likes dropped drastically after I changed my username.
Louise Myers says
Have they bounced back?
isabel says
thanks for this post, its great!
I have a problem. I changed my IG name few months ago but when I share a instagram post in facebook page it shows “published by…my old account name”
how can I change that?
Louise Myers says
Perhaps there’s something in your FB settings you can update. Do you have the correct IG name under “Contact info”?
Di says
Damn! I had the same problem! There were a lot of numbers in my username (too much) and I just needed to promote the product. Someone said to remove numbers and make the nickname shorter. As a result, the very efforts of my account bloomed! It is very good that someone wrote about it. Thank you!
Logan Torres says
You’re so right. If your account is old and you have been promoting it then it’s probably not worth it to change it, unless you can update all those links.
Pat Gillis says
I don’t have a big following on IG but when I changed my username, I couldn’t figure out how to let Facebook Ads know. For some reason, it still links to the old name and then tells me it doesn’t exist. So far no luck getting my new name linked up….:-(
Thanks for the informative article. I’m not as advanced as that but it is a great check list.
Louise Myers says
Is your new IG username linked on your Page’s “About” tab?
Dimitri Kuliuk says
Very good information to know first you change your username. I still think what is good to do, keep the old one or trying to update it. Very difficult solution thanks for the useful information!
Anne says
Hello! Hopefully someone can help answer. When you change your username on instagram, does that also change your i.d. number also? Is there anyway to verify that it does? And if it does, can instagram help with confirmation? Many thanks! :^)
Desiree says
I want to change my business account to a name I had been “holding.” I first deleted that “held” name so that it would be instantly available for me to make the change with the business account.
I keep trying to change the name but Instagram states it is unavailable. Does it take time for this username to become available, or did I mess up here?
Thanks,
Desiree
Louise Myers says
That name may or may not ever be released as available. Policy on this changes, but keep checking for it.
Ally says
Greetings! Thank you for the information. Excellent! I have a business Instagram page that is linked to a Facebook business page. If I change my business Instagram name, will it automatically change my Facebook name? Or, do I need to change each one separately?
Thank you.
Louise Myers says
Hi Ally! Since these names aren’t required to match, I’m almost positive changing one will not change the other. Now the trick is to be sure the name is available on both platforms!
Ally says
Thank you so much.
Irene says
Hello, I changed my Instagram account handle 5 days ago on my business account to match with my website name and Facebook name. Since the change, my followers are dropping a lot. I have not experience such a drop. I am also finding engagement has dropped as well. Will this correct itself? Thank you
Louise Myers says
If you alerted your followers, then you shouldn’t lose many, at least the dedicated ones. As far as engagement, I covered that in the article.
Jacqueline says
Will my old handle be available for someone else to grab and start using? I think my biggest fear is that someone else will take it and people will think it’s me.
Louise Myers says
Sometimes they’re released and sometimes not. There’s no way to predict it, unfortunately.
Bethany says
Is it possible to switch handles? I have a business name handle that has all my personal posts, and then got another handle with my real name because I didn’t want to lose it. I don’t have any posts on it at all though. I’d like to use my personal name for my current account and use the other handle for my business. Is it possible to do that or have I really screwed myself over?
Louise Myers says
You cannot switch handles. You can let one go but there’s no guarantee if or when you could pick it up for the other account.
LME says
if i dont want people finding me on Insta by just entering my full name what can i do? is it just matter of changinf the username to something different than my name and for the name just enter my initials?
Louise Myers says
They could still find you by your phone, email, or linked accounts like FB. You can make your account private to prevent people from seeing your posts.
Renee Matt says
First of all, your website has been a real help as I have been stumbling through social media. Thanks to this article, I took the leap and rebranded myself from mattiemooncomics to mattiemoondoodles. I had taken a “dip” into the Instagram pool and then backed off for a couple of months. It’s easy to see how the number of followers can rise quickly. I am only at 48 for my test run which flat-lined after I took a break. Now that I am ready to pull out all the stops, I’m wondering if its even necessary to tell my followers I have a name change?
Louise Myers says
Your name is so similar, I don’t think it’s necessary.
fishfoot says
was a good read. genuinely thought this was a how-to thing and click anyways for the heck of it. But this ended up giving quite a lot of information that I didnt knew. Although because my new username is closer to my real name than the previous one I do have closer people finding me over there but thats just one of the many cases there are so yeah…. anywho thanks for the info
Noel Wolf says
How do I get my old username back. I changed it like 5 minutes ago trying to set up a business account and it won’t let me revert…in spite of the app saying that I have “14 days”. Does IG have a support line/chat/email?
Louise Myers says
Nope, no support, unless you’re an advertiser. Keep checking in the username if you want it back. There’s no published policy on this (and they’re not always re-released). Definitely keep your eye on it.
Saman says
Hi Louise
Thanks so much for the info, great help 🙂
Just a question, I recently changed my Instagram handle and now I have no likes on my posts and people are also not interested in it. Because I have changed the overall type of page as well that is changed it from a motivational page to like a personal blog, so do u think I should unfollow ppl and build a different sort of follower ship? What would u suggest? Thanks
Louise Myers says
As you can see, it’s not a good idea to change content on people. You need to build a following interested in the content you post now and going forward.
David J Teter says
Hi Louise,
Very good article. You covered everything we need to know so thank you.
When I first set up my Instagram account all the usernames I tried were taken but I knew I would want to change it later.
Fortunately I was not too far along, less than 60 posts, but I still wanted some Instagram followers, commenters and likers to not get confused even though they would figure it out so here’s a little tip.
At the beginning of my bio I put my former username in () withe the @ symbol, (formerly lavadog363) I can always remove later but for now insties will know they have the right account.
David J Teter
Louise Myers says
Super idea! Thanks.
Karina says
If i changed my name twice and want to change it a third time it doesnt let me. I have to wait 14 days. If i deactivate my account, does instagram count those days?
Louise Myers says
I have no way of knowing.
Juergen Berkessel says
This was so useful, good to know where the impact is!
Still I’m not sure, I have a business account that has been very visual with aerial photography and drone centric content, and have about 4000 followers.
But our business also helps people with SEO and podcast based content marketing – and I’d like to set start posting on instagram for that business.
Do you think it’s OK to do that, or do you think it’s better to start a new account when changing content direction? Thanks so much for your content!
Louise Myers says
Instagram thrives on engaged followers, so if you’re changing content you’d do better to start over and attract truly interested followers.
paul says
hi all,
just looking for some help.
we have an instagram page linked to our facebook business page, but anything we post on instagram and share to facebook, it shows our old instagram page name?? even though we have changed our username months ago….
any ideas how to access any hidden setting to change over
thanks
Louise Myers says
Did you change it on your FB page “contact info”section? Check that. Hope it fixes this.
PLMK!
Nicholad says
So i have this meme page which i changed, suddenly when i checked my engagement rate from a website, it dropped from 64% to 3%. I was shocked to see this as my posts wont get to the explore page anymore 😭.. Please help me out on how i can fix this and what must i do to get my engagement rate back 😢..
Louise Myers says
I looked at your posts before and after the name change and you’ve always had a wide swing of engagement rates. You had a few viral posts in the past but you’ve only posted 3 times since the name change… give it time!
Sia says
Hi, I change my username and i want to know your opinion, Do you think i’m going to have bad engagement rate?
For example my posts are not getting in explore or getting low on views.
Louise Myers says
I can’t predict based on a username. As I wrote above, engagement will likely go down until your account stabilizes.
Sia says
Currently my view from explore page is down (dropped from 100k and more to 30k) and as a result i’m not getting any new followers too. I used to get 600 new followers per day but now it’s like 70 or 80, I wonder it’s gonna be like this from now on or after a time it’ll be like before? And do you have any suggestion for me?
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately it’s impossible to predict.
Mark says
Our organization has already changed our name but have not made the official announcement yet.
We are an arts nonprofit, so this involved amending our articles of incorporation with the Secretary of the State and letters to the IRS regarding the name on our our 501c3.
Your article has been helpful, and we will take it slow.
Louise Myers says
Best of luck!