How to change your Instagram username or name

Instagram gives two routes. The quickest is from your profile:

1. Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right.
2. Tap Edit profile.
3. Type your new name or username in its field.
4. Tap Done.

• Or use Accounts Center: from your profile tap Menu, then Accounts Center, then Profiles. Tap the profile, tap name or username, make the change and tap Done
• Instagram is moving people to Meta Accounts, so you may see Meta Account settings instead of Accounts Center. Not everyone can use this setting in Accounts Center yet
• If your Instagram and Facebook profiles are in the same Accounts Center, you can choose to sync your profile info between them

Source: Instagram Help Centre: How to change your Instagram profile information, checked 15 October 2026

On instagram.com:

1. Click your profile picture on the left to go to your profile.
2. Click Edit profile.
3. Type your new information and click Submit.

• Through Accounts Center: click More in the bottom left, then Settings. Click See more in Accounts Center, then Profiles, choose the profile, change the name or username and click Done

Source: Instagram Help Centre: How to change your Instagram profile information, checked 15 October 2026

• If your account reaches a lot of people, the change may need to be reviewed. Instagram notifies you when the review is done; otherwise the change is immediate if the username is available
• Your followers may be notified of the change
• In most cases you can switch back to a username you used before, as long as a new person hasn't taken it and it hasn't recently been removed from an active account you don't own
• Your email, phone number and gender aren't public. You change those separately under Edit profile, then Personal information settings

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: How to change your Instagram profile information, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: When you can change your Instagram username to a name you've used before, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Update your name, email and other personal information on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

It can. If your Threads username is shared with your Instagram profile, changing one may affect Threads features. Instagram's help centre lists what changes when the two no longer match:

• The Threads badge no longer appears on your Instagram profile, and Instagram no longer appears on your Threads profile
• You can't share posts from Instagram or Facebook to Threads
• A Meta Verified badge won't carry over to Threads
• You can't tag organic branded content on Threads with the paid partnership tool
• In Meta Business Suite, mismatched usernames in the same business portfolio pause existing Threads ads and switch off cross-posting to Threads

Source: Instagram Help Centre: About username changes between Threads and Instagram, checked 15 October 2026

Instagram's advice when a username belongs to an account that seems inactive is to pick an available version: add periods, numbers, underscores or an abbreviation. Other things that can block a change:

• An old username of yours has been taken by someone new, or was recently removed from an active account you don't own
• The change is waiting for review because your account reaches a lot of people
• Accounts Center doesn't show the option yet. Use Edit profile on your profile instead
• You're not logged in. Instagram says you need to log in before you can update profile information

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: What can you do if an Instagram username is already claimed but seems inactive, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: When you can change your Instagram username to a name you've used before, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: How to change your Instagram profile information, checked 15 October 2026

Our checklist, not Instagram's, for a rename that doesn't lose customers:

1. Check the new username is free on Instagram, and decide whether Threads should match.
2. Keep your business name in the name field, so people searching for it still find you.
3. Update every place that shows the old handle: your website, email signature, packaging, printed menus and other social profiles.
4. Post a short note or story saying you've changed your username, since not every follower will get a notification.
5. Check your link in bio and any tools connected to your account still work after the change.

Disclosure: this is our product. A new handle is a good moment to reset what you post. Zolyp plans, writes and designs Instagram posts in your brand's voice and publishes them once you approve. There's a 3-day free trial, no card required.