Got multiple Instagram accounts?
Maintaining several accounts is a highly recommended tactic. Each different Instagram account can reach and delight a specific target audience!
Once upon a time, IGers had to sign out of one account to access another.
But no longer!
In this article, you’ll learn how to add and switch Instagram accounts in the app.
Here, we’ll cover:
- How to create a new IG account that’s linked to your current one.
- How to add account switching to existing accounts.
- How to unlink an account you’ve added.
- Posting to multiple accounts from scheduling tools.
- The latest on “one login” for 2023.
- Push notifications on multiple Instagram accounts.
The purple banners will help you find a specific section. Read on!
This article has been checked and updated for 2023.
How Many Instagram Accounts Can I Have?
You can easily manage up to 5 Instagram accounts on one device. This allows you to quickly switch between them without having to log out and log back in.
Can I have 6 Instagram accounts? How about 10 or 20?
There’s no specified limit to the accounts you can create, as long as they’re not being used for deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activities.
Because you can only link 5, more accounts will require either logging out, or using multiple devices where you can link up to 5 on each.
If you manage Instagram business accounts, you can add and switch Instagram accounts on computer.
How Can I Create Another Instagram Account?
You can create a new Instagram account while you’re logged into your current account. Note that this can only be done on the Instagram mobile app!
If you’ve already created multiple Instagram accounts, you can simply connect them, so skip to the next section.
Here’s how to create a new Instagram account that will instantly be connected to your current one.
There are 12 steps, but they’re really easy:
1 | Open your current Instagram account.
2 | Go to your profile.
3 | Tap the 3 lines at top right.
4 | Tap the gear icon at the bottom for Settings.
5 | Scroll to the bottom. Tap Add Account.
6 | On the next screen, choose Create New Account.
7 | Next, create a unique username. You can include dots, dashes, or numbers. If the one you want is taken Instagram will suggest alternatives, probably with a few numbers at the end of your choice.
8 | Create a password.
9 | You can choose Complete Sign Up, and your new account will be linked to your current account, phone number, and email.
OR tap Add New Phone or Email to have it linked to a different phone number or email.
10 | You can choose whether to Connect to Facebook to find friends to follow, or Skip.
11 | Same thing with your contacts: Search Your Contacts or Skip.
12 | Next you’ll add an Instagram profile photo for this new account.
You can skip the remaining steps for now. You’ll get another chance to Discover People by connecting to Facebook or your Contacts. Tap Next and you can manage your ad settings, or… start posting!
You’re logged in to your new account, and can switch to your original account at any time.
Can you have two Instagram accounts with the same email?
You can have multiple Instagram accounts on one email. An email address can be associated with up to 5 Instagram accounts in 2023.
It used to be that you couldn’t use the same email or phone for a second Instagram account. Readers who managed to do this found themselves permanently locked out of the second account when they forgot their password.
Now you do NOT have to enter a new email or phone number to create another account, if you create it when logged into another account, as described above. They can share the same email / phone, OR you add a different one under Step 9 above.
If you try to create an account with an email address and get a message that the email is already in use, double check your spelling, punctuation, and numbers. Here’s help if you can’t make it work.
Be sure to choose an email address that only you can access. If you log out and forget your password, you’ll need to access your email to get back into your Instagram account.
More about “one login” near the end of this article.
How to Add Instagram Account Switching to Existing Accounts
You can connect up to 5 Instagram accounts to switch between them without having to log out and log back in.
To add existing Instagram accounts:
- Go to your profile and tap your account name along the top.
- In the pop-up that opens, tap ‘Log Into Existing Account’.
- Once you have added the account, it will show in this pop-up (3rd pic).
- Tap the account you want to use to switch between them.
To switch between accounts you’ve added:
- Go to your profile.
- Tap your username at the very top of the screen.
- Tap the account you’d like to switch to.
- OR you can switch from any tab with a long-press your profile picture in the bottom left!
Note that you can add up to 5 accounts on one device. source
From now on, just tap your Instagram profile picture at the bottom of any panel to switch between accounts.
Once you have multiple accounts added, you’ll see your profile photo appear in places throughout the app so you can always tell which one you’re using at the moment. I noticed that my account name appears in the comment field so I’m sure which account I’m using. Nice!
Where do I add an Instagram account? I don’t have this option.
There’s another way to add an account to your existing one.
Tap the three lines in the top corner and then click ‘settings’.
Scroll all the way down. You’ll see an ‘add account’ option.
Tap, and you can create a new account or log into an existing one.
How Do I Remove an Instagram Account I’ve Added?
To remove an Instagram accounts you’ve added, you need to go to your profile.
Tap the three lines in the corner and then click settings.
Scroll right to the bottom and select ‘log out’.
It will give you the option to select the account you want to log out of. Select this and you will be logged out.
For more details and troubleshooting tips, read How to Remove an Instagram Account.
How to Permanently Delete an Instagram Account
There’s another option to removing an account, and that’s deleting it.
Deleting an Instagram account must be done via a browser. You can’t delete your account from within the Instagram app on your mobile device.
Permanently deleting your Instagram account cannot be undone!
When you delete your account, your profile, photos, videos, comments, likes and followers will be permanently removed in 30 days.
If you’d prefer to take a social media break, you can temporarily disable your account instead.
Because this is a big step, I recommend you read through this article on how to delete an Instagram account. It’ll cover when you should disable instead of delete, precautions before deleting, and more.
Posting from Scheduling Tools
When you use an approved scheduling tool like Tailwind or Later, it is important to be logged into the right account on your app for some types of posts.
For example, Instagram Stories and carousel posts still need to be posted manually. So, when you click a notification from the scheduling app to post, you need to be logged into the right Instagram account on the app first.
Check this before you tap on the scheduler app notification!
Can I Use One Login on Multiple Instagram Accounts?
The IG feature named One Login was deprecated in 2021.
You can no longer create one Instagram login for multiple Instagram accounts. If you’ve previously set up a single login for multiple Instagram accounts, you can continue to use this feature for those accounts.
You can’t add new Instagram accounts to a single login, but you can remove any previously added accounts at any time. If you remove an account from your single login, you can’t add it back. source
This is no great loss. I always recommended against it, since it permanently linked your accounts. It was tricky to separate them once linked.
But you can use the same email.
Can I disconnect a personal and business account on the same email address?
Here’s what one reader, Deanna, had to say. Please let us know in a comment if you try this and it no longer works in 2023.
I have a personal Instagram account and created a business account linked to it using my iPhone under the same email/password combo.
I can only access the business account through the personal account on my iPhone. On my Mac, I can log into my personal account, but it does not allow access to my business account.
I would like to be able to log into my business account on my Mac. Is there a way to create separate login information (username and password) for my business account now that it’s already established and linked to my personal account?
Another reader left this option on October 7, 2020. This worked for him, though I can’t vouch for it – and as social media always changes, we can’t rely on this to be available in the future.
According to Linoy:
You should log out from it and then try to reset your password. You’ll get an email to reset it, after you pick a new one a reset the password for this account, you’ll be able to access both accounts – just with username and different passwords, even if it’s under the same email.
Note that your accounts that had previously shared a password will be unlinked – BUT you can relink them with the new password. According to Deanna:
When I went back to my phone, because I had changed my business account password, I was notified that the business page was unable to be accessed. I unlinked the business account from my personal account and then relinked them following the prompts and using the new business account username/password. They linked up just fine.
Hope this helps.
What about push notifications on multiple Instagram accounts?
If you’ve added multiple Instagram accounts, you may get push notifications from any account that has them turned on. This depends on when you last logged in and the number of devices that are logged in to an account.
Rocking Instagram
We covered all this:
- How to create another IG account that’s linked.
- How to link existing accounts.
- Resolving problems with linked accounts.
- Push notifications on multiple accounts.
- How to unlink an account you’ve added.
- Posting to linked accounts from scheduling tools.
Here’s a quick summary of some key points.
Missed something? Need the details? Look for the purple banners above.
This is a long-awaited feature that I use daily.
Have you tried Instagram account switching yet?
Once you’ve set up your accounts, be sure to check out how to grow your Instagram followers 11 ways!
Alie says
Hello, I had four instagram accounts- I went to add or create another and it said I had the maximum number of accounts. Therefore, I deleted one account and tried again to add another account and I am still getting the same message. Any leads? I heard that instagram allows you to have five accounts, so i am confused why I’m having an issue with having only 3.
Louise Myers says
Not sure, could be cached memory, and am also starting to hear that IG may have a limit of new accounts created per device / IP address. I haven’t heard of a solution though.
Susan says
Hi I can’t seem to link more than three accounts. It says I have the maximum number of accounts. When I go into manage accounts and try and add there also it says I have reached the max of five. But I removed old accounts and only have three in there! Do you know why it’s doing this??
Louise Myers says
Not sure, could be cached memory, and am also starting to hear that IG may have a limit of new accounts created per device / IP address.
Perhaps if you do a hard shutdown of the app it will reset, but I can’t be sure.
Bill Leighty says
I like to post from my desktop, using the Chrome Instagram Browser Extension, it does not reflect the option to switch from one connected user account to another. Any ideas on a fix, so that I can toggle back and forth between the two on my desktop?
Louise Myers says
Instagram has limited features on desktop. Someone may have a hack for you, but I can’t “fix” what’s not broken 🙂
Dana says
Have you tried to use a portable browser?
I’m not using Chrome but Firefox. The portable version is normally used on flash drives, to be able to use your own browser (with your personal settings, history, cookies …) on every machine.
Another advantage is that you can easily configure these portable versions to allow multiple instances running on the same machine. It’s not the same like opening a new tab or window from an already running browser, because these would share the same cookies and thereby the Instagram session. But a completely new browser copy (just copy the browsers directory – it’s just that easy with these portable browsers) will have its own cookies and thereby should be able to open its own Instagram session.
Then you could switch between your accounts like you are switching between arbitrary windows of your operating system.
Bill Leighty says
Dana, thanks so much for taking your time to reply. Unfortunately, I’m not very tech savvy, and would not know where to begin to follow your instructions, as easy as they might be for someone with a higher internet IQ. Thanks again. Bill
Dana says
Hi Bill,
I will just give you a step-by-step explanation. It is really not that complicated. In the meantime I was also able to verify that it really works. Just ask if something is unclear.
1. Go to portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable and hit the big green download button.
2. Navigate to the program you just downloaded and execute it. It will only unpack the portable Firefox at the place you choose yourself.
3. By default you got a folder called “FirefoxPortable”. Herein you have to allow the start of multiple browser instances. This is simply done by a text file with only two lines. Just do a right-click inside the folder to choose New -> Text Document. Set the file’s name to “FirefoxPortable.ini”. (Just confirm the message that you are changing the file’s extension [from .txt to .ini] if you get one.)
4. Open this file ([Enter] or double-click), fill in the following two lines and save the file:
[FirefoxPortable]
AllowMultipleInstances=true
5. Now you can create as much copies of the enclosing folder “FirefoxPortable” as you want (e.g. FirefoxPortable_InstagramAccount1, FirefoxPortable_InstagramAccount2 …).
6. Now and in future you can start the application “FirefoxPortable.exe” in each folder to get another separate browser instance. It will keep its own cookies; handle its own Instagram account and so on.
The second one will not know that you are already logged in to some account within the first window.
In conclusion the only manual adjustment to make is the creation of the configuration file, to really enable multiple instances. The rest is only downloading, extracting and copying.
(Of course you can also create shortcuts in the start menu or on the desktop to not have to navigate to the application files every time.)
Nadia Levy says
Hi. I can’t access my second account. I see it when I search for other accounts but it seems to not be linked to my first page. Think this happened when I switched handsets. I had it linked so I could switch easily between the two and not have to do it on a separate email address etc. Please help!!!! It’s my makeup artist page?
Louise Myers says
Different emails are required for password recovery. So if you can, change one to a different email and try to link them again.
Dana says
Hello,
I followed your instructions and tried even more possibilities – but it seems to be impossible for me to create more than one account!
I’ve tried the Instagram website in a desktop browser as well as the freshly installed Android app. I can see and use all of your mentioned options. – But still, they don’t allow me to create a second account!
I’ve wasted lots of e-mail addresses as well as possible user names since every additional account is blocked immediately (giving me stupid, empty explanations that there is some current problem with the creation process and I should try it again)!
Is this maybe caused by my static IP address? My PC as well as the device with the Android app are using the same WLAN and therefore will show the same global IP address to Instagram.
Also I can’t imagine how I could have broken some rules? I have never uploaded something, I did never like or follow something or someone with my first account. I don’t know how I could have infringed a rule since I’m still in the process of creating my accounts.
At multiple sources I’ve read how simple it should be to create and manage multiple accounts (just like your place here), at least with the app (up to five?). I can see lots of people who are doing this, keeping multiple public and private accounts running at their mobile devices. But how did they create these???
It’s really annoying; my static IP address is maybe the only difference between them and myself. Or does Instagram also use other unique device identifiers?
I can’t find any information about the restrictions of account creation.
Louise Myers says
Oh dear. Sorry for all the hassle! I’m afraid I don’t know anything quite that technical about device identifiers, but I don’t see how it would matter.
If I discover anything I’ll be sure to let you know.
Dana says
Thank you for your fast reply.
Just for some explanation: On other sources (e.g. some Reddit discussion) I found hints that there is *some limit* of the number of accounts you can create per device. This can only be realized by checking the unique device identifier or by looking at the Internet address of the device. In some older discussion they were suggesting to buy more devices to be able to create and manage more accounts!? I won’t do this.
Yes, I know of children with more mobiles (and Instagram accounts) than I own. But I won’t buy anything on spec.
I planned to use different accounts to not mix family, business, hobby and other affairs. But right now it looks like this “some limit” (There are no official numbers I know of.) is ONE for me. Even so I used two different devices (PC and mobile), but through the same Internet connection.
Again thanks for your work. I will check this site from time to time for updates.
Louise Myers says
“one” isn’t a very acceptable number! Thanks for the explanation. Sorry they’re not being very accommodating to you!
Alyssa says
That happened to me, too. In the past (long time ago) I had two accounts, but deleted them both. A half a year ago I opened a new one. I wasn’t active at all – I would use it once in a while just to take a look at photos. I rarely liked anything and posted only several photos.
I tried to open another profile yesterday (for my artwork). I did the same as you – tried Facebook, tried different e-mail addresses – always the same – “Try again later” or “You broke the rules and cannot open an account now” and that was it. All e-mail addresses blocked, Facebook blocked…
I tried my phone, tried Chrome, Firefox (on my PC) – all the same. It’s only ONE account for me. I have no idea why. I have never violated any rules on Instagram – neither in the past with those two long gone and deleted profiles, nor with the one I have now. I was so annoyed, that I wanted to delete the one account that I have now and be gone from Instagram forever.
We can assume that they changed the policy. No more multiple accounts for most users. Maybe in the end they will allow only one account per user. I don’t know what they check – the IP address or the devices… My mom wanted to create an account with her phone and PC, but since we share the same IP address – it might not be possible…
They could at least give some notification about changing the rules. So unprofessional!
So, this article IS outdated.
Louise Myers says
Sorry it didn’t work for you, but it’s still their official policy. They haven’t changed that.
I get that you’re frustrated, but unfortunately there’s nothing I can do to update the article. There simply is no information on why this works for some people and not others.
Arielle says
I recently got logged out of my business account on instagram that is linked to my personal account. Both are linked to my facebook page personal and business. When I go to reset the password entering the username of the business account it sends me the link to reset but always logs in to the personal account. I can see my business account is linked in the business profile but have no way to log back in.
Do you know how to redirect it to the secondary page? The email associated with the business page doesn’t see to work either. I can’t get it to send an email link only a text.
Louise Myers says
If both are linked to the same phone number, I don’t know of any way to resolve this.
Jovita Molina says
Hello, I hope you can help me. I have lost my old account while trying to add another account on Instagram. Can you give me the steps on how to access my old account? It’s been so long that I don’t even remember my password for it. Is it too late to get it back? HELP! I did not delete it, I just followed your steps to add another account, I did not do the switching account steps.
Louise Myers says
You can request a password reset for it when you go to login. Just be sure it has a unique email and/or phone number from any other account.
Jovita Molina says
Okay, I found my old account sometime before this response but I have forgotten my password to my new account and it will not send me a new reset for password since I have not been able to confirm the email since I can not remeber the password, LOL! account I guess the only thing left to do is make a new account and just leave the second one to be deleted? But I wanted to use that email, getting old sucks big time! LOL!
Louise Myers says
Oh no! That sounds a bit strange, but unfortunately I don’t know of any way to resolve it.
Robin says
I have NO option to log out or switch accounts on my iPhone (there is no gear next to Edit Profile). I have updated and still nothing. I have a personal account and 2 business accounts and can’t access either one of them. Frustrating!
Louise Myers says
Please tap the 3 lines at top right on your profile and you’ll see the gear at the bottom.
Mohamad says
Hi
I have 5 accounts they were all showing in the IG App on my iphone, just today i was about to check one of them and it logged me out and the account disappeared from the list When i try to “Add Account” it says you have reached max number. i can still log in from desktop but i can’t find the account on the IG APP anymore .. only 4 are showing ! any idea how i can bring this back ?
Louise Myers says
Sorry, I don’t know.
Lee says
Hi Louise,
I am signed in to 2 accounts already but when I go to add account and enter the details it looks like it is loading but then just takes me to my 2 account and doesn’t add my new account?
Louise Myers says
Hi Lee,
You might want to review the info above to be sure you’re following the correct steps for either adding a *new* account or an existing account.
Kathy Sargent says
I am very new to IG. I set up my personal account about a year ago and rarely posted anything. Last week I decided to set up another account to use for my business. While logged in to my personal account, I followed the directions to set up another account. It seems to be working. However, I posted items for sale on my new account yesterday and when I added hashtags (I read your article 🙂 ) in the comments – it shows that the comments are being made by my original IG account handle. I understand that means that the hashtags won’t work because they are being posted by someone else (me, yes, but under a different name). Should I close my original account? If I do, will that also delete my new account that I added?
Louise Myers says
Not sure what’s going on here. I have 5 linked accounts and have never had them cross-post. However they have added a new “post to multiple accounts” feature so it could be a bug. I suggest just using the hashtags in the post caption.
Vesi says
Hello! How can I change the username of my account with the name of this account? When I try to change it the answer is “A user with that username already exists”. Then I check to the search bar and there isn’t another user with that username and name, expect me. Can you help me?
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately no. You can’t use a name that’s in use, even if it’s you. And if you let go of the name, IG may or may not release it to be taken by another account. There’s just no way to know.
Shira says
Hello! Thank you for this helpful tutorial. I manage a friend’s social media and she asked me to start posting to her instagram page. Since I will only be doing the posting and not the responding, is there a way for me NOT to get notifications from her business…only mine? I’m afraid if I get it for both I’ll be inundated with notifications and will miss my important ones. Thank you!
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately I’m unaware of best practices for managing someone else’s IG. You might want to research to make sure it won’t cause troubles to have 2 people logging into the same account. Not saying it will, but it does on Pinterest.
C says
Here are the steps for removing an account from showing in your list that you’ve already deleted.
1. Make sure you know the passwords for all your accounts.
2. Log out of all your accounts.
3. On the home page of the IG app, tap, Manage accounts.
4. An X will appear next to the account name, tap that to remove the account you no longer want to appear.
5. To remove another account, repeat step 4.
6. Now you’ll be able to create / add new accounts.
Louise Myers says
Thanks!
elizabeth shoebridge says
your info is out of date, i’d love to see an updated version and also how to actually create that second account not just about how to add/link to the first. cheers
Louise Myers says
Can you explain? I added info that tells how to create a second account just a couple months ago. Maybe you missed it. It’s actually the first section “How can I create another Instagram account?”
If this isn’t working I’d love to know.
Michael says
Hello, I have to concur, the information seems outdated.
I have a Samsung and I do not have the option to “Add an Account” there simply is nothing listed anywhere on Instagram saying “Add an Account”
Louise Myers says
I have it on both iPad and iPhone under Settings > Logins. I’ll see if there’s a different process for Android though!
Louise Myers says
This info is current according to Instagram itself. “This is included on version 7.15 for iOS and Android”
D says
Is it possible to access my saved photos from all of my accounts?
Louise Myers says
As far as I know, they should al be in your camera roll. That’s where mine are.
D says
I mean the ones that I save to my insta account. when I switch accounts id still like to access the same ones
Louise Myers says
“Access” in what way? You only have admin privileges on the account you’re logged into at any given time. Switch accounts to get admin privileges on a different account.
Clare says
I’ve been trying to remove an account for ages. Logging out just switched my account but left the old one still on my list. I eventually cracked it by going to settings on the account (gear symbol) and then to “saved login information” and then toggling off the “saved login information” followed by “remove” then repeating the log out process.
Louise Myers says
Terrific! Thanks so much for letting us know.
Graham davenport says
Hi. I’m stumped I have a personal ig account I added my photography page to the same account using add business feature but now I have a small business in a different field and want a ig account for this also how can I add an additional account my new business has a different email to my other accounts but I get to age verification on setting a new page and that where it stops telling me to use at most 30 characters in which I have changed my name size and it still has no affect. All advice greatly appreciated
Sabrina says
I have permanently deleted all unwanted accounts on IG but when I try to add account it says Cant add Account you already have maximum number of accounts active. I only have two accounts. How can I fix this? even when I go to log out of all accounts it only show the two active that I have.
Dolly Maufras says
I have 3 instagram accounts. When I switched Iphone from Iphone 7 to Iphone XR, my main instagram account was installed but not the other two accounts. I remember my main email address, the 2nd email address, but don’t remember the 3rd one. How do I find out the email address so I can add my third instagram to my account? Thank you.
Louise Myers says
If it was a business account and you had the email public as a way to contact you, that would be the way. Just go to the bio and send yourself an email.
I assume you didn’t so… my only idea is to start trying your other emails! Or searching in these email accounts for the signup email from Instagram.
Bethany says
I have 3 accounts. I recently logged in to do the top 9 and ever since, two of them keep making me make a new password every time I log in. They have two separate email addresses but are both linked to my Facebook. My facebook email is the same as my personal accounts on both platforms but is different for my business IG page. My business IG is linked to my business Facebook page. I’m wondering if the linking between platforms is what is making me reauthenticate every time?? HELP PLEASE.
Louise Myers says
No, I have different emails for all 5 of my accounts and only 1 matches FB. Sounds like the Top 9 site did something weird but I have no idea what. You could try contacting them…
Bethany says
So it shouldn’t matter that my Facebook links to my personal and business?
Louise Myers says
Not sure of your question. I have 4 business pages and a personal FB, all linked to 5 different IG accounts and I have no problems.
Bethany says
Hey! I did make my second instagram account by using my phone number because I didn’t have two emails. Now I can’t sign into that account. Am I forever locked out of that account or can I recover it? Every time I try to sign in on that account, it just redirects me to my main account.
Louise Myers says
I don’t know of any way to recover it IF you used the same phone number to sign in on both accounts. If you used an email on one and phone on the other, you should be able to.
Nickib says
Thanks Louise! You are always my first GO – TO blog when I need to know something that can easily be implemented! *fist bumps*
Louise Myers says
*fist bumps back!*
Christy says
Thank you! Solved my problem with getting accounts off my app. 🙂
Kudran says
Hi Louise,
My name’s Kudran. Can I ask you a favour? I don’t know what happened to my IG account. First time I made an Instagram account I used Google, and by mistake I tapped on ‘save password’. Then I use IG app and usually log in from there.
Yesterday I created a page on Facebook along with a new IG page from there using Chrome browser desktop view. When it’s all done I tried to log in the new account but it couldn’t open. It keeps showing my first account. I tried to input my new account but still it couldn’t open, and now even worse, when I clicked on my first account just as it is shown, it also couldn’t open saying that the username doesn’t belong to an account. I tried setting the password in chrome to ‘off mode’ but still it doesn’t work.
When I created the new account from Facebook it didn’t ask for password, just email. When I open Instagram from Chrome it shows my first account with already written password but it cannot open.
Could you help me with this problem? What should I do to restore and also use the new account ?
Thank you very much
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately I have no idea how to help.
Hannah says
Hi! I have a second Instagram account but it does not allow me to repost or share to my story. When I click on the share arrow it only allows me to send to people individually.
Katrina says
I have the same problem . . .
Angela says
I have this problem also! Were there any solutions??
Tim says
Hi Louise,
I have two Instagram accounts that I use, one with my first last name and one in the reverse, surname then first name (Example, @johndoe, and @doejohn) I forgot I had the one with my first then the last name and have been using the other. I would like to switch my @doejohn to @johndoe and I know I will have to delete the other account to do so and then change my profile name on my @doejohn to @johndoe but I am afraid I would lose the name if it cannot be done instantly. I have been publishing a good bit of content on my @doejohn and do not want to lose the content. I want to make the switch for brand purposes. I am a Leadership Coach.
I hope I made sense. I would appreciate any advice you can provide.
Thank you!
Louise Myers says
Instagram says that deleted account names aren’t released to be used again. I wouldn’t recommend testing this theory!
Mikael Soerensen says
Great read Louise.
When i first startet doing instagram, i got alot of “shadow bans” because going way to aggresive. Learned alot by the years by now. And couldn’t agree more on what u say.
Michael says
I just tried something that worked on iPhone.
Logout of all accounts, then a page with all the accounts and a switch button in front of each ig handle will open. Use the switch button to select which account you want the app to remember when logging in again.
Once that is done, select logout and all your accounts will log out.
The next page will come with 1 of the remaining account for you to login to.
Once you login to that the other account will also be remembered and the “unwanted” will be gone.
Very safe.
Louise Myers says
Wow, this sounds cool! Thanks Michael.
Ashley H says
Hi, My husband made a secondary account for our business. He doesn’t have time for it now and I need to be able to access it from my phone through my account. I have tried adding, logging in etc and it won’t work. How do we fix this? Thanks!
Louise Myers says
This is all I know:
Go to YOUR profile and tap the gear or settings icon in the top right.*
Scroll down and tap Add Account. It’s near the bottom.
Enter the username and password of the account you’d like to add.
Or log in with Facebook if that’s how you set up the other account.
I’ve never heard of this not working and have no idea what’s wrong.
Linda says
I just created a second IG account, and everything seems to be fine. I actually was reading this to see if I could switch accounts easily using my computer, but someone asked and you answered so I get that. But I am trying to understand what the problem is in using the same phone number for both accounts? Sorry to be dense! I did use a different email account, because it prompted me to do so. But I only have (and can afford!) one phone, so what problems might I encounter, please?
Louise Myers says
You would not be able to recover the password for the 2nd account.
Scott Place says
I created a third account then it locked me out of my second account only.
Louise Myers says
Meaning you can’t log into that account at all? I don’t have any advice as I’ve never experienced problems with account switching. I have 5 on 1 device and 3 on another.
April says
How do I disable or remove a second account I created? I understand how to log out of that account so it doesn’t appear on my phone, but how do I disable the added account so that it’s not searchable any longer without it affecting my primary account? Thank you!
Louise Myers says
This info is from Instagram. To permanently delete your account:
Go to the Delete Your Account page. If you’re not logged into Instagram on the web, you’ll be asked to log in first. You can’t delete your account from within the Instagram app.
Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? and re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you’ve selected a reason from the menu.
Click or tap Permanently delete my account.
Rebecca says
Hi I have my IG account connected to my daughters account and in the last few days I can switch back and forth but when I go to her account it says can’t refresh and I can’t see her messages and friends. What can I do to fix this?
Louise Myers says
When I see “can’t refresh” it’s because my iPad isn’t finding wifi (even if I’m next to the modem!). I’m not sure in this case. Perhaps she’s blocked you?
Rob says
Hi! What if you used the same email and phone number for both your personal account & business account & cannot log in to the business account?
Louise Myers says
If you figure something out, please let us know. You need to have a unique phone number and/or email for each account.
Christine says
Hi Louise,
I just set up my 2nd (business) account with the same phone number.
I am currently logged into both accounts. Is there a way to change the phone number to an email because then I can use a different one than for the 1st account. Thank you!
Louise Myers says
Christine, I don’t know of a way to do this. I would look in your account settings to see if you can add an email.
Eleni says
Hi on my android I added my dogs account through the same Facebook
Now I got an iPhone and cannot sign in to dogs account? can I go into my android phone and change the sign in info?
Louise Myers says
I have no idea. Why not try it?
Anita says
Hi, I have 2 IG accounts. I don’t have a problem switching between them using my iPhone, but I can’t do it on my computer. Since most of my pictures are on my computer I would like to use it instead. Is there a way to switch accounts using a computer or is that not available yet. Thank you.
Louise Myers says
You have to log out of one and log into the other.
stefania says
The issue is that with multiple accounts, posting pictures is too annoying.
Before, if I wanted to share a picture from my gallery, I clicked on “share” and then “Instagram”.
Now, I have to open the instagram app, choose the right account, open the gallery, find the photo and share.
When you share directly from the gallery it doesn’t ask you WHICH account but it uses the current one.
I know, it’s not a big deal, but it annoys me!
Louise Myers says
I get it, but there’s probably nothing that can be done to change this, as Instagram only allows their approved marketing partners to post to IG accounts.
Mary S. says
I am new to IG. My daughter put IG on my phone but deleted it when she was given her own iphone. I now need to put IG on my phone to manage the social media for a small business I work for. It is an existing account. I have to this point been managing it on my bosses iphone. He asked me if I could manage it from my personal phone. Can I do this?
Louise Myers says
I would be wary about logging in via different phones. Really the best solution would be to use an Instagram-approved partner to manage the business account.
Jo Lynn says
What’s your suggested course of action if you’re managing 15 accounts? Is there an app to install? What about posting to instagram accounts from a laptop?
Thanks for your help! 🙂
JLB
Louise Myers says
If you manage that many accounts, you’ll definitely want to check out these Instagram marketing partners to post from your computer.
Tae says
Thankyou so much! It’s obvious when you know how to do it, but I couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong
Clear, concise and perfect.
Thankyou again, Louise
Mariya says
I recently created a second IG account and linked it to my original account. However, I made the mistake of using my email or phone # (can’t remember which one) to create the new account that I used on my original account. Is there a way to change the email/phone # on the new one? I would actually prefer to remove the 2nd account and just create a whole new account altogether. It’s for a business and I want my co-founder to be able to add photos as well so I’d rather it go under the business name and not be associated with me at all. If I remove the account, will that account still exist?
Louise Myers says
You’ll have to look up how to delete the account as opposed to simply unlinking it.
Tamela Hulett says
I signed up for a new account with new email , same phone number . The username is amigayoga . But Underneath the profile circle – it say my first & last name . I just want it to be amiga yoga gear
Apparel
Louise Myers says
You can change this in your account. Tap “edit profile” and type the name you want.
Nicole says
When you add another account to your instagram…will the other accounts on the app be notified that you opened another account?
Louise Myers says
I can’t guarantee anything, can only say this didn’t happen when I added accounts.
Nadia R. Lopez says
Hi louise. I recently just open another account on Instagram, but I was wondering if I can move completely pictures to the other profile. Thank you for your time. Have an excellent day.
Louise Myers says
Maybe you should just change the name on the previous account. You can’t move the posts from one to another.
Amanda says
I can’t add my existing instagram account. What should I do? I have tried updating , uninstall and reinstall my instagram account but it’s not working.
Louise Myers says
Are you not seeing the option to add account?
Nana says
I got 2 instas. If i post something on the story of 1 of them it will also show on my other profile!? It did not used to be like this and I really dont want it to? Help?
Louise Myers says
I have no idea how this would happen. It doesn’t happen to me.
You could try disconnecting them, and reconnecting. Or else you’d have to keep them disconnected… unless you can figure out something else.
Please let us know if you do!
Michelle says
Hi Louise,
I have 2 profiles on instagram that I access through my phone.
My question is this: If I like or comment using one profile, can people following my main profile know that it’s me if they don’t know I have that second profile?
I would like to keep my activity on each profile private from the followers of each.
Thank you.
Louise Myers says
I don’t think there’s a way for them to know it’s you just from your comment and the fact that the accounts are linked. I can’t guarantee it, I just don’t know how they would.
However any profile that has FB connected to it may be telling your FB friends, “your FB friend so and so is on IG.”
Michelle says
Thank you. FB isn’t an issue, it’s more in regards to those that follow me on my main Insta page. I don’t’ want the activity to cross there.
I appreciate your answer
kim says
thank you so much! Just spent over an hour on this – yours was the only set of directions that worked for me! THANK YOU!!!
Louise Myers says
I’m so glad it helped!
Dee Silver says
Ok i have two school accounts because I’m a club sponsor. Recently my phone had to be restored to factory settings. I lost all my profiles from my IG app. I was able to recover my personal account and one of the clubs. I can’t access the other one because I used the same phone number for all the accounts. It keeps sending the link to the personal account and not the one I need. How do I access it?? I can’t find where I wrote the password since it’s the summer and school hasn’t started. It’s been frustrating because I need to update the profiles by adding pics. Unfortunately I’m unable to access that particular profile. I hope I’m making sense. Thank you so much for your assistance
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any way to recover additional accounts that used the same email or phone as a previous one.
ancas says
You can change the number for one of the accounts that you can access.
Joe says
This might be super late but do I have to crest another account first and then add it to my account? Because I went straight from my ig to add account and clicked *sign up* typed my stuff in and it takes me back to my real insta
Louise Myers says
yes.
Pascal says
Hello – sorry to add but I am desperate for help. I cannot see a dropdown of any kind on my MAC when I open Instagram. Neither do I see a place to add account s(I’ve already added one and just want to toggle back and forth on the MAC. It’s easy on the phone but I can’t see any way of doing it on a MAC desktop.) I’d be SUPER thankful for any help? THANK YOU!!!!
Louise Myers says
Desktop has limited capability. You can do this on a phone or tablet.
Maria Moustouka says
Louise I need help
I think I’ve been locked out of my Instagram account as I switch back and forth and it’s my business account as I have used same email for multiple accounts what can I do
Louise Myers says
If you hadn’t set a different way to get password recovery on your second account (phone or email), I don’y know of anything you can do.