Whether it's for work, to document hobbies, or show off the life of your adorable pupper, it's not uncommon to run multiple Instagram accounts.
However, you might find yourself needing to remove one of these accounts from your Instagram because maybe your Instagram-famous dog died and you want to close that chapter, or you just need a little break from your personal Instagram.
Fortunately, it's easy to remove extraneous Instagram accounts. Here are six steps to remove an Instagram account using your iPhone or Android.
1. Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android. Tap your profile picture in the bottom-right corner.
The interface layouts are analogous on iPhone and Android. Emma Witman/Business Insider2. Tap the down arrow next to your Instagram username at the top of the screen.
3. Select the account that you want to remove from the drop-down list.
You'll need to be logged into the account you want to log out of. You can also log out of multiple accounts at a time. Emma Witman/Business Insider4.
Tap the three lines in the top-right corner.
5. Tap "Settings," or the gear icon, from the menu.
6. Tap the blue "Log Out" text at the bottom of the screen. Click the blue "Log Out" button in the pop-up window to confirm your choice. In this window you can also log out of multiple accounts at the same time by tapping the circle to the right of the account name — a blue check mark should appear in the circle if you've selected the account.
The account will no longer show up alongside your other Instagram accounts.
Emma Witman
Emma Witman is an Asheville, NC-based freelance journalist with a keen interest in writing about hardware, PC gaming, politics, and personal finance.
She is a former crime reporter for a daily newspaper, and has also written extensively about bartending for Insider. She may or may not judge your drink order when behind the bar. Follow her on Twitter at @emwity.
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By Aya Masango
Instagram's About This Account feature helps you identify authentic profiles with ease. Here's how you can use it to steer clear of fake accounts.
Sometimes it can be hard to spot the real from the fake on social media. And on Instagram, it's easy for people to embellish information.
For that reason, you may want to get credible information about an Instagram account. That's where Instagram's "About This Account" feature can help.
This article will show you how to use Instagram's About This Account feature to get factual information about someone's account.
Instagram's About This Account feature gives you information about a large account, so you can validate whether it is authentic. Why would you need to validate an account, you ask?
For instance, some people can buy followers, making their accounts inauthentic. Newer accounts with an unusually large following may not be the real deal, and you'd be able to tell this by reviewing their account information.
The feature shows you factual information, including when the account joined Instagram, where it is based, and any usernames it has had in the past. You can also see the accounts it shares mutual followers with and whether it has any active ads.
It may be helpful to do this when cleaning up your Instagram, as it would help you decide which profiles are worth keeping around.
Instagram's About This Account feature is completely different from Instagram bio, and one is more reliable than the other.
Simply put, users have control over the information that appears on their bio, and they can change that information as they wish. That means the information on one's bio might not always be credible or factual.
Unlike the About This Account feature, which users can't edit. This feature shows you information from Instagram itself, which makes it much more reliable than an Instagram bio.
3 Images
Instagram's About This Account feature is a small section that you can find on a user's profile. Here's how to use it to review an Instagram account's information:
From here, you can gauge whether the information shown makes sense for the account. For example, are the number of followers consistent with how long the account has been on Instagram?
Also, new accounts can be spam accounts, which you may want to avoid. These types of accounts are often created and deleted quickly.
Are the posts consistent with where Instagram says the account is based? This can help you know whether the user is misrepresenting their location. Be mindful that people travel, meaning they may tag places not listed on Instagram's About This Account section at any point in time.
Reviewing the usernames an account has had in the past can also be helpful. Some people like to change their usernames to reflect their changing interests, preferences, or personal brands.
Some people also buy accounts with large followings, which could explain a change of usernames.
And then some scammers and impersonators change an Instagram account's username to stay under the radar.
Instagram, like any other social media platform, is filled with catfish, fake accounts, and people who may want to take advantage of others. For this reason, it helps to know what you're dealing with, especially if you're considering following an account.
The About This Account feature on Instagram makes you better equipped to know which accounts are worth following by helping you gauge their authenticity and steer clear of spam accounts.
You can delete an account on Instagram in different ways: through a browser on a computer or smartphone, as well as through a mobile application - both temporarily or permanently. In this article, we will consider all cases in detail.
Before you delete your account, Instagram will prompt you to download your data from it.
After deletion, this will not be possible.
Here is how to send a request to download a copy of data in a browser from a PC:
After that, a link will be sent to your email, following which you can download all your photos, videos, comments and other information from the profile. Instagram warns that you will have to wait up to 14 days for the letter, but usually sends the coveted link within a few hours.
The same can be done in a browser from a mobile device. To do this, click the profile icon in the lower right corner of the screen, then open Settings in the upper left corner. Further, the algorithm is the same as when sending a request from the desktop.
You can also get a link to save a copy of your data in the Instagram app for Android and iOS.
This is a radical option for those who are "100% sure" that the account will no longer be needed. In this case, your profile, all photos, videos, comments, likes and followers will be irretrievably lost.
In short, : you just need to log in to Instagram from a computer or smartphone and follow this link. Here you only need to indicate why you want to delete the profile and enter a password to confirm the action. And now in detail about how to delete Instagram from different devices. nine0003
The page will ask you to confirm the deletion. Your profile and account data will be deleted after 30 days. During this time, your account will not be shown on Instagram, and you will be able to restore it.
Deleting an account in the web version from a smartphone
A similar sequence of actions must be taken to delete Instagram through a browser on a smartphone.
com in a browser on a mobile device .
Unable to delete Instagram through the application. The social network will still ask you to go to the site in a mobile or web browser.
If you want to see for yourself: in the application, click on the profile photo at the bottom right → go to the burger menu at the top right → Settings → Help → Help Center → burger menu → Account management → Delete account → Delete Instagram account → read instructions To send request for permanent deletion of account . Well, then choose any of the two instructions above. nine0003
For those who just want to take a break from the popularity of the social network, there is an opportunity to temporarily freeze their account.
Instagram really does not want to part with you and will (un)obtrusively remind you of this option all the way.
If you temporarily deactivate your account, your profile, photos, comments and likes will be hidden until you log in again and thereby activate it.
An Instagram account can only be deactivated on desktop, mobile or via the iPhone app. You can only do this once a week. nine0003
On a computer browser
The site will ask you to confirm or cancel the action.
In the browser on your smartphone
In the mobile app
iPhone users can temporarily delete their Instagram account in the app. To do this:
How to delete a blocked account on Instagram
All instructions above, by default, assume that you know the login and password from your account and are authorized in it. Unfortunately, deleting an Instagram account if it is blocked will not work. Before you enter it, you have to unlock it - that's the way. nine0003
There are three ways to do this.
The first - without an identity document. Fill out the form at the link by selecting "No" in response to the question "Is this account used to represent a company?".
Second - with an identity document. Attach one snapshot of a government-issued document or two snapshots of non-state-issued documents to this form.
The third is in case your account was blocked by mistake. Fill out the form, saying what you think about Instagram, in the "Tell us why you want to appeal the decision to permanently deactivate this account" section. nine0003
After sending the questionnaire that suits you, further instructions will be sent to the e-mail indicated in it. Usually this is a digital code that you need to write by hand on a blank sheet of paper, take a picture with it and send it back to technical support. If the email did not arrive, submit the form again with a different email address.
Forewarned means forearmed. We warn you - Instagram has the ability to delete another user's account, and theoretically it can be used against you. nine0003
The following methods work if the user does not have two-factor authentication enabled.
1. Brute force. This is a way to hack another user by brute force.
Studies show that most people do not know how to be creative and responsible, so from year to year the most popular passwords remain "123456" and "qwerty". To protect yourself from this method, come up with a complex password for yourself from numbers, letters and symbols.
2. Phishing. If you sort it out yourself - laziness, scammers can try to force their victim to give out a username and password of their own free will. An email is sent to the person on behalf of the Instagram administrator. It says that the account has a security problem, and therefore the user urgently needs to follow the link and change the password. The link leads to a fake site, visually completely identical to the social network, and even an experienced user can fall for the bait. The rule here is this: do not follow unfamiliar links, even from the “Instagram administrator”. nine0003
3. Hackers. "Specialists" can help to steal someone else's account. Such offers (and ready-made programs) are not just circulating on the darknet, but also on the regular Internet.
For example, hackers have vulnerabilities in Instagram itself, leaks that the platform allows, social engineering, and other methods. Here two-factor authentication will help you . Do not be lazy to put it on your applications.
In addition, you can block an account using the Instagram terms and conditions. It is enough to complain that the user's posts allegedly violate them. nine0003
There is a menu (three dots) in the top right corner of every post with this feature. Instagram will ask what's wrong with the post and offer to specify the category of inappropriate content. This can be spam and fraud, pornography, incitement to violence, insults, the sale of illegal items, copyright infringement, and others.
You can also complain about the objectionable profile itself - for example, for publishing inappropriate content if its owner pretends to be a different person or if he is under 13 years old. nine0003
If a profile receives many complaints (and the reason must always be the same), it is blocked.
There are no specific figures - the decision is made on an individual basis, but usually the more severe the violation, the fewer complaints are needed to block the profile.
However, the owner of account can challenge ban . The account will be restored as soon as its owner proves that he did not do anything illegal.
Sometimes it's good to take a break from social media, but self-discipline only allows a few. Then deleting the profile comes to the rescue. We explain how to delete from Instagram permanently or temporarily, saving data
Since March 21, 2022, the social networks Facebook and Instagram are banned in Russia by a court decision, and the Meta Platforms holding company that owns them is recognized as an extremist organization and is also banned.
Some users notice that they devote too much time to managing their Instagram account to the detriment of work and personal affairs.
Even the owner of Instagram, Meta, admitted in internal documents that its social networks have a negative impact on sleep, work, parenting, work productivity and personal life of approximately 12.5% of users. And scientists from the University of British Columbia found that users' own lives begin to seem insufficiently bright and interesting compared to what they see on Instagram. nine0003
Meanwhile, until the spring of 2022, the social network was consistently in the top 10 in terms of downloads in Russia and in the world. The international agency We Are Social estimated that in 2021 Instagram ranked fourth in our country in terms of the number of users (61.2% of Russian Internet users go there), and in total 67.8% of the Russian population (99 million people) use social networks. The average Russian spends 3 hours a day outside of work at the monitor or with a smartphone.
In November 2021, Instagram began testing the Take a Break feature. It will allow users to escape from the continuous viewing of the feed.
In the settings, it will be possible to set reminders for breaks, for example, 10, 20 or 30 minutes. After that, the application will issue a warning about the need to rest. However, this feature has been opened to a limited number of users so far. nine0003
For now, everyone has the only alternative - to give up Instagram for a while or for good.
This option should be chosen when the profile is definitely no longer useful: for example, if we are talking about the account of a company that has closed.
Before deleting a profile, Instagram will offer to save data from it. To do this, you need to send a download request. After that, an email will be sent to your email within 48 hours with a link where you can download photos and videos. You can also request a copy of your data through the Instagram app for Android and iPhone. To do this, open the menu in the profile, go to the "Settings" - "Security" section and select the "Download data" item.
Next, you will need to enter your email address and account password. nine0003
Download request from Instagram
Even after deleting the profile, it will be visible on the social network for another 30 days. During this time, the user can change his mind and restore the account. If within a month the owner of the profile has never logged into the system, then the account is permanently deleted.
To delete a profile using a computer, you need to perform several steps:
To delete an Instagram profile using your phone, you need to take more steps:
nine0018 The user can also stop using Instagram for any period and then restore the page. However, you can do this no more than once a week. A temporarily deleted profile is not visible to other users of the social network. To restore it, you just need to log into the application.
To temporarily deactivate your profile using a computer, you must perform the following steps:
As in the case of the "permanent" deletion, temporary blocking of Instagram will require more steps:
com website from a mobile browser"; nine0018 To delete your account, you need to know your username and password. A forgotten password can be reset using an email address, phone number, or Facebook account. If the user does not have access to the email address specified during registration, and his Instagram and Facebook accounts are not linked, then the support service will not be able to provide access to the account. nine0003
In the event that an Instagram account has been blocked by the social network itself, its owner will see a corresponding message when logging in. He can appeal this decision. To do this, you need to open the app, enter your username and password, and then follow the instructions on the screen.
