How to find an instagram account that changed their name

How to See Someone’s Instagram Username Change History

By Alvin Wanjala

Updated Aug 8, 2022

There are a few reasons to check an Instagram account's username changes, including spotting suspicious businesses. Here's how you can...

Instagram has many users and businesses. But like any other social media platform, you can’t always be certain if the person on the other side is honest or a legitimate business.

One way to spot a fake Instagram account is by checking if it has changed its username recently. If a business account regularly changes usernames, there’s a high chance it’s not legitimate.

But can you find the former usernames of an account on Instagram? And why do people change Instagram usernames in the first place? Here's what you need to know and how to see the number of times someone has changed their username on Instagram...

Why Do People Change Instagram Account Usernames?

There are two main reasons people or businesses decide to change usernames on their social media profiles. One reason to change an account username on Instagram is to create a more memorable or user-friendly username.

However, these profiles wouldn't change their names frequently since businesses and individuals alike often give significant thought before choosing a business name or username. And if they decide to change the brand name or username, it will stay that way for an extended period.

The other reason for changing an Instagram username may be for malicious motivations—to make it hard for scam victims to find the account in the future. This is important because scammers know victims will find their Instagram account details by username.

If someone changes their username and has blocked your account, you won't be able to see their account in the future. Even worse, Instagram also provides an option to block a single account and any new accounts that a blocked user might create.

As an Instagram user, you can’t tell which reason may be the intent behind every username change. But it's always useful to check to see if an account has a suspicious number of changes. Knowing how to detect fake information online has become increasingly important in the current era.

For this reason, Instagram added a way to check the number of times an account changed its username in the recent past, where an account is located, and when it was created. These features enable you to avoid even sophisticated social media scams.

Can You Check Someone’s Former Usernames on Instagram?

In the past, you would see an account's Instagram username history and the specific date when a certain username was created. Depending on how frequently the account changes its username, you would see several former usernames. However, not anymore.

Instagram now only displays the number of times an account has changed its usernames in the past.

How to Check Username Change History on Instagram

Instagram offers an easy way for you to check if a specific account has changed its username recently.

Follow these steps to uncover the number of times an Instagram account has changed its usernames:

3 Images

Navigate to an account’s profile page.
Tap the three-dot menu in the top right.
Select About This Account from the pop-up.
Tap Former Usernames. On the next page, Instagram will display the number of times the account has changed its usernames in the past.

One downside of the feature is it's not available on all Instagram accounts. If you don't see the About This Account option, the account may not have this additional information available.

Another caveat with this method is you will only see username changes that have happened recently. If they have not changed usernames for a long time, Instagram will tell you the account has never done so, which might be true or false.

Not seeing a recent username change is positive, and that's one of the first things you should always look out for to avoid Instagram scams. One recent Instagram username change isn't bad as it may have happened due to a legitimate reason. But frequent changes can be a red flag.

Check Before You Spend

Instagram continues to push into e-commerce, and there are many businesses selling products and services on the platform. Influencers also sell their merch on the photo and video-sharing app.

As the platform leans further into online shopping, it’s important to know how to differentiate fake profiles from legitimate ones.

Instagram accounts' username change history plays an important role in discovering the legitimacy of an account. Follow the steps above to see any Instagram account's username change history.

How do you find someone on Instagram if they changed their username?

Yes, you can track down that Instagram user even if he/she has changed username. The way (trick) in which you can find that user is by his/her respective name. If that user is your friend, or in anyway you know his/her real name, then you can track him/her down.

– Open the account of any user on Instagram.
– Click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
– Tap on About this Account in the drop-down list.
– Scroll down and find Former User Names.

Also question is, What does it mean if you can’t find someone on Instagram?

As with Instagram, the person who is blocked does not receive any notification. However, you can tell you have been blocked if you don’t see someone’s profile when you search for it on your account, but can see it when you search from a friend’s account.

Also, How do I unblock someone on Instagram if they changed their name? Open the user profile menu (··· on iOS and ⋮ on Android). Select Unblock from the menu that has appeared and confirm your choice. If the person has changed their username since you blocked them, you will not be able to unblock them using this method.

Accordingly, Why can’t you find someone on Instagram not blocked? If you are sure that the person has not blocked you, check if there is a possibility of the person having deactivated his/her account. Because that could be the only other possibility where the account isn’t visible at all.

Does changing your Instagram name unblock you?

If you change the username for the same account in which you have blocked, yes, you still be blocked. And when you create a new account with another username, you aren’t blocked. You can see there posts if they aren’t private.

How do you find someone on Instagram who changed their username?

Open the account of any user on Instagram. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner. Tap on About this Account in the drop-down list. Scroll down and find Former User Names.

How do you know if someone changed their Instagram name?

Voir la vidéo sur YouTube

Why can’t I find my friend on Instagram?

Someone temporary might disable the Instagram account. In this case, you won’t be able to see the profile on Instagram DM, or in any other place. If you tap on the username, it shows that the username not found. If the person deletes the account, you would see the same error over and over.

Can someone use my old Instagram name?

“Your old username will be locked for 14 days. … After that, the username will be available for anyone to use.”, revealed Instagram code in a reverse-engineering experiment by Wong. There can be several reasons why one decides to temporarily change their username.

Can you see Previous usernames on Instagram?

Open the account of any user on Instagram. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner. Tap on About this Account in the drop-down list. Scroll down and find Former User Names.

Does changing your Instagram name untag you from photos?

If you have been tagged on the photos, those tags get automatically updated as your new username and linked to your existing account. However, if you have been tagged in the description or in the comments via your old username, those links get nullified and lead to an empty “User not found” page.

Can you find someone by name on Instagram?

How To Find Someone’s Instagram By Username. If you know someone’s Instagram handle, you can search for them by clicking on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the app. You can actually search for specific accounts, hashtags, and places in this same spot. As you spend time on Instagram, the app will get to know you.

How do you unblock someone who changed their name on Instagram?

Open the user profile menu (··· on iOS and ⋮ on Android). Select Unblock from the menu that has appeared and confirm your choice. If the person has changed their username since you blocked them, you will not be able to unblock them using this method.

Are Instagram usernames transferable?

As long as they have the username and password, it can be transferable because you are giving another person access to it. However if you are talking about having a username that is already registered and being used by someone else, then it becomes unavailable for others.

How do you know if someone blocked you on Instagram 2020?

Check the comments When you open it you can not see the posts, followers and followings – your IG account has been blocked. Also, you only see “No posts message”. What does it look like when someone blocks you on Instagram? The only sign you can see “No posts message”.

How do you unblock someone on instagram if you have each other blocked?

Log into your Instagram account on your phone. Go to Settings, under privacy and security click “Blocked Accounts” and find your friend. Click on his/ her profile and click unblock. Ask your friend to do the same.

How do I find someone on Instagram 2020?

– Enter your IG account.
– Open your IG profile.
– Tap settings and select the section called ‘Discover people’.
– Navigate to the ‘Contacts’ option.
– Press ‘Connect contacts’ to allow the app and website to sync and store your contacts on IG servers.

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References and Further Readings :

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How do you find someone on Instagram if they changed their username? 1. 4Kshares Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsAppYes, you can track down that Instagram user even if he/she has changed username. The way (trick) in which you can find that user is by his/her respective name. If that user is your friend, or in anyway you know his/her real name, then you can track him/her down. – Open …

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6 ways to find a person on Instagram

Have you ever searched for a person on Instagram*? For example, a child or his friends, to understand what he is interested in outside the home? Or run a business and want to find out who influences the community in your field?

You know that these people are on Instagram*, but it can be difficult to find them.
In this article, we have collected popular and effective ways to search for a person on Instagram*.

Search by name and surname; nine0011
Search by phone number;
Instagram photo search*;
Search through VKontakte;
Search through Pepper.Ninja;
Instagram search* by mail;
Search for a blocked account on Instagram*.

Search by name and surname

The easiest way is to enter the name and surname of the person you need in the search box on Instagram*. The reception can be safely called popular, because tens of thousands of users do it every day. True, only a part of them find what they are looking for. nine0003

More than a billion profiles are registered in the social network, the first and last name should be really rare. Otherwise, you will have to look through hundreds of namesakes and log into the account of an outsider more than once.

Still, it's worth a try - what if the person we're looking for ends up at the top of the list?

Act:

Turn on the application. Tap on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen.
A search bar will appear at the top, click on it. The category list immediately below it will change. nine0011
Select "Accounts" - this will limit the search to only people.
Write the name in the line. Choose the desired profile from the list below.

By the way, many accounts can be with someone else's photo. Are you sure that the right one is not among them?

If you're unlucky and don't find what you're looking for on the first few screens, try a different search option. Or scroll to the end, but the result is unpredictable.

The person may have been registered under a pseudonym. Then it's useless. nine0003

Search by phone number

Finding a person on Instagram by phone number is much easier. If the contact is saved in the phone book, the site's search algorithm will instantly indicate it among millions of registered users.

If Insta is linked to a Facebook account*, subscribers from this social network can be added in the same way as phone contacts.

The process is simple:

Log in to your Instagram account*, to your personal page.
Select the People of Interest tab.
Allow Instagram* to access your phone book, then find the desired contact in the list that appears on the screen.

It remains to allow Instagram* access to the phone book

But what if there is neither a number nor a person's name? There is an exit.

Instagram photo search*

Instagram* strictly protects user privacy. All images and their digital prints are securely encrypted on Facebook* servers. Insta does not allow you to find the author who uploaded the original image - oh well. nine0003

You can try outside - through Google and its service "Search by Photo".

Reverse image search is a convenient technology for finding the source of a photo. If you upload an image to the service, similar photos will be displayed with a link to the place of publication.

If the URL points to Instagram*, you can find the user's profile. Although, this is a rather hopeless undertaking. Rather, it will be possible to find a person in other social networks, where he could leave a link to his Instagram *. nine0003

Just a few steps:

Enter the image search service.
You will see a camera icon in the search bar. Click on it.
Upload or drag the desired photo from your device to the search bar.
Study search results.

There are also Yandex. Pictures and several services for searching images on the web. The principle is the same - add and check

If this method does not work, go to the next one.

Search via VKontakte

Options are possible here. Let's start with the obvious.

VK profile

Go to the page of the person you are interested in and click on the "Show detailed information" tab. Often people indicate other social networks so that they can be contacted outside the site.

What you need can be found in the column "Contact information".

Invite friends from VKontakte

You can invite friends from another social network, including VKontakte, to the Instagram* application. nine0003

Go to your Instagram profile settings*.
Select "Subscriptions and invitations".
A menu will open in which you must select the bottom tab - "Invite friends using ...".
By selecting VKontakte, you will have two options - publish an invitation on the wall or send a message.

If your message is not answered, do not despair. Try the following method

See also: How to view Instagram follow request statistics*: check incoming and outgoing requests. nine0003

The Pepper.Ninja scraper is a service that helps you find customers on social networks. I created a portrait of the client, set up the application - and the algorithm will collect the target audience from all sites, taking into account the specified parameters.

But we need to find the Instagram account* of the right person. This can be done without any special settings.

The parser has the required option. It's easy:

Register with Pepper.Ninja.
Click on the big green "Quick Parse" button in the upper left corner. nine0011
At the top, you can specify a link to the VK profile of the person you need, if you have one, or to the community to which he is subscribed in VK.

Enter the data you have. For example, a profile in VK

Below there will be a filter where you can enter all the information about the person that you have.

General information block… ...and details

You will receive a list of matching Instagram profile IDs* and links to them.

You can return to the collected list in the "Assignments" section.

Depending on what you need, you can download links to profiles or only the list ID

If you know the nickname of a person on VKontakte, try entering it in the Instagram search box*. You might be lucky and he used the same nickname for different social networks. If you don't see a familiar name, you'll have to check each nickname on the list to find the specific person.

Or not found. Then try narrowing down your search. nine0003

Search Instagram* by mail

Some people use their first name, last name or nickname in the name of the email. And leave a mailbox as a contact on their page.

Enter the first part of the email, up to the @ sign, into your Instagram search*. Perhaps you will be lucky.

The system will show user nicknames that will be at least somewhat similar to the email address

If none of the listed methods helped in the search, move on. nine0003

Searching for a blocked Instagram account*

Nothing helps? Maybe you are looking for an account that you previously blocked. Then Instagram* does not show it in the SERP for you personally.

To get the opportunity to view the page of a friend or girlfriend again, remove it from the black list in the Instagram settings *.

Four easy steps:

Go to your Instagram settings*.
Select "Privacy".
Check the Blocked Accounts tab. nine0011
Remove the account from the black list.

Check this tab. Maybe the contact ended up here “magically” ;)

Searching for a person on Instagram* is more difficult than in other social networks. Registration on the site does not require you to indicate your real name, place of residence, gender or age.

But, as you can see, this is still not a dead end. You can find a user even with a minimum of data. Bookmark this article for future reference.

nine0002 See also: Ensuring the security of your Instagram account*.

Well, if none of the above helped, it may very well be that the person simply does not have an Instagram profile*, and we are looking for something that does not exist.

What to do if the user is not found on Instagram?

Contents:

1 How to find a person by nickname?
2 What does “User not found” mean? nine0011
3 How to detect a person if he changed his nickname?
4 How can I get a person's page if he blocked me and I blocked him?
5 Why can't I find a person on Instagram?
6 How to view a blocked account in a social network?
7 Questions from our readers

Any of the actions on the Internet space may result in an error. And almost never they are caused by social network bugs. Now we will talk about what Instagram means “User not found”, and when we can see these words. It's simple, but you need to figure it out. nine0003

How to find a person by nickname?

If you have a nickname, accessing the user page is easy. Unless, of course, the account is open and working. There are only two ways to open a profile:

Search bar. On the phone, it is located on the tab that opens after clicking on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom.

It is always visible on the computer, no matter which tab you go to. Just enter your nickname there. If you didn’t go to the hashtags tab on your phone, for example, then this will be enough. If you have, open the "People" search tab. nine0011
Link. A unique link is formed from "Instagram.com/" and a nickname. Just add this URL and follow it to open an account.

What does “User not found” mean?

Sometimes, when you enter a nickname in the line, the social network says that the acc is not found. What does this mean, if it really exists? There is only one option - blocking.

It can be of two types:

Admin. If a person violated the rules of the social network, his account will be blocked. In this case, it is impossible to get a link to it through any search. This is a punishment for spam and limit violations. nine0007
Custom. If a person has a reason to block you, they will. And then such people go to Google: “User not found Instagram, what does this mean?”. Apparently, you deserve such a search result.

How to detect a person if he changed his nickname?

Insta uses a nickname to navigate pages. Therefore, often, if a person decides to change it, it is quite difficult to get the URL of the desired profile. nine0003

The options are:

Use other social networks. The necessary information can be in the "Contacts" section or on the wall if the page owner has configured the import.
If there are mutual acquaintances, try to get the desired page through them.
If you have his ID, you can always get the profile. But getting a link to the right tool is quite difficult. I won't write it because people rarely keep ides.

How can I get a person's page if he blocked me and I blocked him? nine0026

Let's say you and the page owner came to a consensus after you banned each other. They asked him to unblock, but he writes “I can’t, an error in Instagram “User not found”. What to do in this case?

Everything is extremely simple:

Open your page. To do this, click on the icon with a person.
Click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
Select "Settings".
Open the "Privacy" section.
Here, under the "Linked Accounts" button, there will be those who are on your Black List. You can open the profile of each of them and unblock if you wish.

Why can't I find a person on Instagram?

Why can't I find this Instagram user? Let's sum up a little. The main reasons why this error appears:

Writing error. None of us is immune from grammatical errors and typos. Therefore, make sure that everything is written correctly. nine0011
The user has blocked you. In this case, it will not be possible to open this account through the search.
Page banned. If a user violates the rules of a social network, his account will not last long.
The person left. If the acc is deleted temporarily or permanently, you, again, will encounter this error.

How to view a blocked account on a social network?

Like closed accounts, the profiles of those who banned us are of keen interest. Therefore, the question of whether it is possible to watch it is asked by many people. Alas, we will not be able to get access. There are two options: first, you can ask the owner of the account to give you access; secondly, you can use another Instagram. If the profile is closed, you will have to wait until you, as a subscriber, are confirmed. This limitation cannot be bypassed either. nine0003

Why can't I find a person on Instagram if there is one? There may be several reasons for this: firstly, you made a mistake in writing; secondly, you have been blocked; thirdly, the person was banned from Insta; finally, fourthly, the account itself was deleted by the user. Until you solve these problems, you will not be able to open the desired page.

Questions from our readers

#1. How else, besides the Instagram search bar, can I get an account?

Other social networks of the right person will be indispensable in this case. In VKontakte, the area where you can “legitimize” the photo network is quite large - posts on the wall, an album with photos and the “Contacts” section. Try to look there, most likely the desired nickname or even URL will be found.

#2. What does the inscription "user not found" mean if I know for sure that he is registered?

Perhaps the user changed his login or you write his nickname incorrectly, check if there is an error? If you are sure that the spelling of the nickname is correct, the user could simply block you.