Want to change your Instagram username?
Of all the social media platforms, Instagram makes this the easiest.
Perhaps you’re changing your account’s focus. Or maybe you’re able to get that name that matches what you have on other platforms, for brand recognition.
But – be prepared before you jump in!
Here’s what to consider before changing, then how to swap your Instagram username in 12 steps.
Please read to the end so you know what to expect before deciding!
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.
It takes some time and effort, but it’s important to track down all the places you’ve ever had your Instagram link placed before you begin to swap your Instagram username.
Will my old Instagram redirect to my new one?
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.
Unfortunately, there’s no 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 mentions of my old 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 or swap the Instagram username I 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?
Less than 3 years ago, Instagram would instantly release most usernames that were changed. Now they’re locking in old ones for a 14 day grace period, to prevent bots from gobbling them up right away.
This means that if you change your mind, you have 14 days to revert to your old username. In most cases. That verbiage comes directly from Instagram.
So it’s likely you’ll be able to revert back to the original username. Do not move forward with the change if you absolutely can’t lose that name.
Swapping Instagram usernames
If you want to swap names with another account you own, schedule a reminder for that 14th day, to grab it.
Beware that some previously-used usernames are never made available again. So, keep the name on the account you have it on if you can’t bear to lose it.
Of course, if someone beats you to it on the 14th day, or you somehow can’t find it again, you can always create a variation of the name that you wanted.
12 Steps to Change 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, write up a new Instagram profile with 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.
Say thanks to your old followers for being on this journey with you. And thank new followers for following!
Pin the checklist as a reminder! (Then read on…)
Here’s What 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 still 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.
Next steps? Learn How to Grow your Instagram account!
Sarah says
Hi, I appreciate this is an old post, but hoping you still see new comments. I registered (but haven’t used) a new account name adding the word ‘design’ to my existing IG account name, thinking I’d run two accounts at some point. Having read your article, I now realise I could just change the name of my current account, but have I now made it impossible by assigning that name to another, albeit inactive, account? Thank you
Louise Myers says
It’s not impossible, but you do need to delete that new account (or change its name) and then wait 14 days. Then you can attempt to change your current account to the “design” name.
Sarah says
That’s really helpful, thank you
Anthony M says
Hi Louise!
I have not yet decided whether to change my username or not. I am actually looking for your input on what I should do, because there is an obstacle that is present.
I am looking to change my username on every platform. But there is a major obstacle. Almost a year ago, my favorite organization won a world championship, and they were selling limited-time jerseys. One option that I had was to get anything on the back where the name would go, so I put my current username to represent a sports jersey. My username was implemented into the material, so I cannot physically take it off in any way. And now I really want to change my username, but I have the jersey that I plan to wear to future events related to my favorite organization’s game. My username would only be changed a little bit, but too much to the point where I cannot change the jersey to my liking. The jersey really represents who I am in the community, so I do not want to not use it.
I’m very skeptical on what I should do. I got some input from others, and they said to just keep my current username. But… there is another obstacle.
My username is the same name as a character in an infamous anime. On multiple occasions I have been referenced to this character, which I am upset about, because I have no relation to this character. My username actually derives from a really old username that I made over 5 years ago, and I had no idea that this character existed before I made the name change and started advertising my content under my current username. It gives me another reason to really want to change it.
Changing all of the links and handles on the platforms will not be too much of a problem for me. It’s mainly just the jersey. The character obstacle is just a reason on why I want to change it. So… what do you think I should do?
Sorry for the essay. I hope you understand. Thank you!
– Illumi
Louise Myers says
I don’t want to tell you what to do 🙂 but I think you could find a seamstress and/or a company that does this sort of personalization to sew a matching fabric OVER the name area, with the new username.
If you don’t want to do that, then your choices are to live with the username you have, or have the 2 not match. I don’t see any other options.
Alex says
Hi! I changed my Instagram user but the old one still appears on my Facebook page. The connection between Facebook and Instagram works fine but the link associated with the old username does not . Thanks in advanced!
Louise Myers says
It might take a few days to display the new name. Or possibly you can unlink and relink it to get the new one. I’d give it a while first…
Ali says
Hi how much time it takes that my posts appear on search after changing instagram username and if i change it back to the first name does it affect my promoting
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I don’t know about that.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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! :^)
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!
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?
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.
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!