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By Monica Chin / @mcsquared96
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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Some social platforms limit the number of times you can change your username, while others don’t let you do it at all. Instagram is a username free-for-all; you can alter your Instagram handle whenever you want, as many times as you want — within certain limits.
There’s a difference between your username and your display name. The display name is on your profile below your avatar. It doesn’t need to be unique to you, and it can contain emoji and special characters. (And yes, it can also be changed — up to two times within 14 days.)
Your username, on the other hand, appears at the top of your profile and at the end of your profile’s URL. It needs to be unique to you. It’s also subject to more restrictions: it can’t be longer than 30 characters and can only contain letters, numbers, periods, and underscores. If you choose a new username, you can change it back within 14 days — if nobody else has claimed it.
Whether you’ve changed your real-life name, you’re upgrading to a more professional username, or you’re just bored of your current moniker, you can change your handle in less than a minute. Here’s how.
First, log in to your Instagram account on the iOS or Android app. If you have more than one account, double-check that you’re logged in to the one you’re trying to change.
1/3
Tap your avatar icon.
If you want to change your display name, type in the Name field instead.
If you prefer, you can change your username with the desktop version of Instagram.
1/4
Sign in to your web-based Instagram account.
Again, if you make a mistake during this process or decide you don’t like your new handle after all, you can go back to your old handle within 14 days. After that time, you may still be able to revert, but your old handle may have been taken by another user.
..As mentioned before, you can’t have the same username as someone else, and it’s first come, first served. If your chosen handle is taken, Instagram will let you know after you press the checkmark on mobile or Submit on the web.
If the name you want isn’t available, try adding numbers or underscores to make it unique to you.
Also, keep checking back. Your desired username may become available in the future. The current owner may change or delete their profile, and Instagram occasionally removes fake accounts.
Update June 21st, 2022, 2:10PM ET: This article was originally published on February 5th, 2020, and has been updated to account for changes in the app.
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Here’s how it works.
There are many reasons why you'd want to know how to change your username on Instagram. Maybe your real-life name has changed and you want your online self to reflect this. Or perhaps it's time you retired that username you chose as a teenager that was hilarious at the time but is just embarrassing now that you're a responsible adult.
Whatever the reason, changing an Instagram username is really easy, whether you choose to do it on a smartphone or tablet such as the iPhone 13 or Galaxy Tab S8, or through a browser on Mac OS, Windows, or Chrome OS.
The best thing is, you can change your Instagram username back again if you like, though you need to do this within 14 days — and as long as some new teenager full of hopes and dreams hasn't snatched up your hilarious former handle, that is.
Want to know how to change Instagram username? Our guide below tells you all.
Changing your Instagram username on iOS or Android is easy using the app.
The screenshots below were taken on the Android app, though the layout is exactly the same on iOS.
1. Open the Instagram app then tap your profile picture in the bottom-right to enter your profile page.
(Image credit: Future)2. Tap Edit Profile under your bio text.
(Image credit: Future)3. Tap the Username field.
(Image credit: Future)4. Input a new username in the text field, then tap the blue tick in the top-right corner to confirm. And that's it.
(Image credit: Future)1. Head to the Instagram homepage and sign in. Next, click your profile picture in the top-right, then click Profile.
(Image credit: Future)2.
Click Edit profile next to your username.
3. Input a new username in the Username field, then click Submit at the bottom of the page when you're done.
(Image credit: Future)Easy, hey? Now you know how to change Instagram usernames, take a look at how to post on Instagram from PC or Mac, how to save photos from Instagram, or how to change your Instagram password or reset it. If you want to buff up your power user knowledge on other apps, get started with out guide on how to use the Spotify equalizer on iOS and Android, how to make Spotify louder and how to turn off read receipts on WhatsApp.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsDale Fox is a freelance journalist based in the UK. He's been a tech nerd ever since childhood, when he used the money from his first job as a paperboy to buy a subscription to GamesMaster magazine.
Dale was previously a presenter and editor in China, where he also worked as a copywriter for OnePlus at its Shenzhen HQ.
When using your account for a long time or spamming attacks, the question arises of how to change your password on Instagram. If this is not done, it is likely that the profile will be blocked by the administration of the social network.
Contents
The password from Instagram needs to be changed in several cases:
In such situations, it is advisable to change the password in order to avoid unexpected blocking, as well as various mailings and reposts from your account.
Most users use mobile devices to access their personal profile. You can also change the password through the network application. This is done in the following way.
At the top, enter " Current password ", average -" New password "(Generate it or come up with it yourself). At the bottom, confirm it.
If you're worried about forgetting your password, use the autofill feature. It is automatically configured on most modern Android devices.
On PC, there are several ways to launch the application. However, not every one of them has the ability to log in when you forgot your Instagram password.
The password is changed in the same way as on smartphones. For the method to work, you need to install the emulator and Instagram in it.
On a Windows 10 PC, you can install an app that you download from the Microsoft Store:
In the list of options found, click " Download ". If it says " Run " instead, the program is already installed.
You can recover your password if you forgot it by clicking on the blue button " Forgot your password ".
It appears at the time of authorization.
When creating a password to enter your Instagram account, you must come up with a complex combination that consists of at least six characters. Such a code will be difficult for hackers to pick up.
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How to enter Instagram if you forgot your password? Sometimes the login is forgotten, and indeed all the requested data. In some cases, the system may not respond in any way, even if all characters have been entered correctly.
What if the whole point is that you were hacked? In such a situation, it is important to know how you can protect yourself from outside interference and regain access to the social network if the attackers still succeeded. Let's consider the most common situations when, for some reason, a user is unable to access their Instagram profile, and we'll figure out what to do.
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The recovery and replacement process depends on what information the account owner has.
Once on the main page, you need to click on the link "Login information not found?". The system will ask you to enter the login, mobile phone or email to which the account is linked. It will then suggest further steps to bring back Instagram.
If you chose to send via mail, there will soon be a letter confirming recent activity. You need to go to the received address and return to your profile.
When you stop at using a phone number, receive SMS with a numeric code and enter it in the request window.
In the absence of a smartphone and mail, Facebook will help. Accounts must be linked and synchronized. Below we will look at how to perform a recovery in this way.
“I don’t remember my password on Insta,” the user notes with horror. We will deal with the options for what is happening, depending on the availability of access.
First go to the main page and click:
Then there are several directions and paths that depend on the information available.
You can use a phone number here. It is introduced at the initial stage. The user receives a notification with a link to reset the code settings. Then a tab opens, similar to the one shown in the case discussed above. The account owner enters a newly invented security code and duplicates it in an additional window.
The most convenient option for restoring the login to the profile is to use a smartphone. Thus it is impossible to recognize the old one, but it is easy to create a new one. However, what to do if you forgot the password from Insta (Instagram), but the device was not at hand?
In this case, e-mail will help. You need to enter the address in the appropriate window in order for the social network to recognize it. Next, you need to select a specific action and click on the "Send email" button. letter".
Then, having entered the mailbox, you should open the message received from Instagram, re-authorize and regain the right to use the page.
The previous settings will be reset, so a new code will be required. Symbols should be entered several times in certain columns.
In this situation, the phone to which the social network is attached will also help. The procedure is exactly the same as in the previous chapter.
Facebook is a popular affiliate network that will help you regain access. For the option to be really effective, the following conditions and restrictions must be met:
Only in this case, a person can log into Instagram if he forgot both the account password and other data.
Procedure:
After all the manipulations listed above, the user will automatically be taken to his page on Instagram. You should immediately go to the service settings and link the account to an active personal number and a valid email. After that, the utility closes, and you need to start restoring access itself using the algorithms discussed earlier. When all the work is done, it is worth trying to go to the social network.
If you don't have a Facebook account, a smartphone and a mailbox, you won't be able to solve this problem on your own. It is necessary to contact the technical assistance of the administration.
when two-factor authentication is connected How to recover a forgotten password on Instagram if you forgot your login or other data, and at the same time there is an additional level of security? In this case, the system issues backup codes to the user.
In order to open a window for entering this numerical value, you must click on the corresponding button after typing the account and code characters.
When such protection is enabled, it is recommended to take screenshots. You can view or change this information in the privacy settings section.
How to remember the password from Instagram when authorization is not performed at the moment? This is impossible, and there is no such column in the social network. The feature is explained very simply. If it were possible to restore access, then any stranger in whose hands a smartphone would fall could easily get to someone else's page and get personal information.
This can be done via the computer's browser if you have logged in through it and saved certain data. In different web browsers, the path to the repository can vary significantly. For example, in Yandex, the functionality is as convenient as possible, since it has a special button for the personal information manager.
The user selects Instagram and watches everything he needs.
It also happens that a lot of time passes, but the code characters have not been received. First of all, it is important to understand the reasons why this happened. The most common of them are:
How to change the password on Instagram to a new one if you forgot all the existing information, and there is no access to your smartphone, there is no Facebook page? Unfortunately this is not possible.
It is important to first make sure that there is always at least some opportunity to return. It is necessary to monitor the relevance of linked accounts in other social networks and instant messengers.
If you remember your details, you can change them in the settings by clicking "Edit profile". The old code is entered first, and then the new one. We recommend that you use strong combinations of letters, numbers, and punctuation. If you cannot remember the password, you need to request its reset and perform all the manipulations that the system will offer.
First of all, you need to log into the social network from your device (Iphone, Ipad). Next, you should go to the profile by clicking on the icon with a little man on the right side of the screen. Then at the top right you need to click on the symbol with a bolt, after which the options menu will open. Scrolling down a little, you can see the option "Change password".
Enter the current code in a separate field. The next column indicates the new one. It must be complex so that attackers cannot hack it. It is better if all existing types of characters are present: numbers, letters, punctuation marks, etc. The same combination is typed again. The user must click on the "Reset" link. Then the account is activated with updated data.
Recovery via mail, phone or Facebook is also possible. These methods were listed above and are no different for Android and IOS.
A user with devices on this platform performs the same manipulations as the owner of an iPhone. The only difference is in the icons, in IOS it's a bolt, but here it's three vertical dots.
The web version helps with the recovery of the code character set. You need to go to the social network site using a computer browser and click on the link "Forgot your password?".
If you have a Facebook profile, you should go to it.
If there is no Facebook, the phone number to which the account is linked or email will help. All necessary steps are listed in the sections above. The stages of restoration work through the web version and the smartphone are very similar. In the first case, it is more convenient to do this through a website, social network, in the second - using a mobile application.
If Insta is hacked, recovering it is much more difficult than in a situation with ordinary data forgetfulness. Malefactors usually change all information at once: both mail, and the password, and Facebook page. However, in this case, a notification will be sent to the mailbox.
You can return the stolen Instagram through the official technical support of the service. This is done from a different account or by clicking on the "Help Center" tab. In this case, it is possible to use the browser of both a computer and a smartphone.
Options for regaining access in a legal way:
To obtain an application form, follow the link. Next, fill in the email and username. You must provide a reason why you cannot login. After that, the question “Have you tried the steps indicated in our support?” Will pop up, which should be answered in the affirmative. Then you need to confirm the action and click "Submit".
Unfortunately, as practice shows, technical support is not very willing to help and gives an answer only in rare cases. For this reason, in order to break through the flow of similar correspondence, it is recommended to send messages several times a day. It is likely that you will finally be noticed.
Recovering an account that has been temporarily blocked is possible through a standard login.
This feature is available to users who log in through a computer. Deactivation for a week or a month is carried out in several steps:
During unlocking, confirmation by phone number or email may be required. The display shows "Suspicious login attempt". You must provide contact information to return access and wait for a confirmation message. The verification code will come within a minute.
This option is suitable for users who see an "Action blocked" alert on the screen. Perhaps the account owner has exceeded the limit on comments, the maximum number of posts in the feed or likes. It is necessary to leave the account inactive for a few days through the temporary lock function.
Useful recommendations that will help protect the user from ill-wishers and save him from having to figure out how to change a forgotten password on Instagram if he forgot the old one:
You must use at least 6 letters, numeric characters and punctuation marks. This character combination should not be used anywhere else. 
