How to Change Your Instagram Username (and How Often You Can)

How to change Instagram username on iPhone and Android

The steps are the same on both phones. Only the save button looks different.

• Tap your profile picture in the bottom right to open your profile.
• Tap Edit profile, just below your bio.
• Tap Username. This is your @handle, not the bold Name above it.
• Type the new handle. Instagram checks it as you type and flags it if it's taken.
• Tap Done on iPhone, or the checkmark in the top right on Android.
• Go back to your profile and read the new @handle once, letter by letter.

On a computer, or when Username isn't in Edit profile

On a laptop or PC you don't need an app. Sign in at instagram.com, click your profile picture on the left, click Edit profile, change Username and click Submit. That's the whole desktop route.

Some accounts have been moved to Accounts Center, so the field lives there instead. On the website, click More in the bottom left, then Settings, then See more in Accounts Center, then Profiles. Pick the right Instagram profile, click Username, edit it and click Done. In the app the path is the same: Settings, Accounts Center, Profiles. Meta is rolling out Meta Account settings too, so you may see that label instead of Accounts Center.

If you run a personal and a business account on one phone, check the profile picture at the top before you save. Renaming the wrong account is fixable, but it's an annoying extra round of edits.

How often can you change your Instagram username?

Instagram doesn't publish a fixed number of username changes. Its help page says an available username changes immediately, unless your account reaches a lot of people, in which case the change may be reviewed first and you'll get a notification when it's done.

The hard limit people bump into belongs to Name, your display name. Instagram allows two Name changes within 14 days and tells you so in Edit profile when you hit it. Meta's help page for verified profiles states the same rule: twice every 14 days on Instagram.

Switching back is where most articles say "you have 14 days." Instagram's own page doesn't give a time window. It says that in most cases you can return to a previous username if nobody new has taken it and it hasn't recently been removed from an active account you don't own. So if you regret the change, switch back quickly, while the old handle is most likely still free.

Two more cases. Accounts with a notability verified badge can't change the username once verified. And if you plan to subscribe to Meta Verified, Meta lists too many recent changes to name, username or profile picture as a reason you may not qualify yet.

Display name vs username: which one do you actually want?

Your username is the unique @handle. It sits in your profile link, in tags and in search, and only one account can hold it. It allows letters, numbers, periods and underscores, with no spaces.

Your Name is the bold line under your photo. It doesn't have to be unique, it can include spaces, and it's what people often search for. If you only want to add a surname or your job ("Maya Ortiz | Ceramics"), change Name and leave the handle alone. That keeps every link you've shared working.

If you're renaming a brand, you'll usually change both. Do the username first, since availability is the real constraint, then set the Name to match.

Will you lose followers if you change your username?

No. You keep your followers, posts, comments, likes and DMs, because nothing about the account itself changes. Nobody has to follow you again.

Instagram says your followers may be notified of the change, so some people will see it either way. I'd still post a short note like "Same account, new name: @newhandle" and keep it as a Story highlight for a few weeks.

Three things don't move on their own:

• Your profile link. It contains the old handle, so update your website, link in bio tools, email signature and other social profiles.
• Typed @mentions in old captions and comments. They're plain text with your old handle; tap one to see where it goes now, and ask partners to edit the important ones.
• Photo and video tags. Instagram describes tags as links to profiles, but open one or two key tagged posts and tap the tag to confirm it lands on your account.

Why can't I change my Instagram username?

It's usually one of four things, and the message on screen points to which.

• "This username isn't available": someone has it. Add a period, an underscore, a number or a short word like your city or trade, which is what Instagram itself suggests.
• The handle looks abandoned: you still can't claim it. Instagram's answer for inactive accounts is to pick an available version.
• Your change is under review: that happens to accounts that reach a lot of people. Wait for the notification instead of saving again.
• Username isn't in Edit profile: open Accounts Center, then Profiles, choose the Instagram profile and edit Username there. A verified notability account can't change its username.

Pick a handle people can find, then let them find it

Say the new handle out loud once. If you'd need to spell it for someone, it's too clever. Keep one recognizable piece of the old identity, like your surname or brand word, and match your other platforms where you can.

Before you save, run a free Ganicly profile scan and note today's follower count, so you have a clean before and after. The follower count tool is handy for checking the number again a week later.

A rename is also a good moment to grow on purpose, since the bio, the name and the link are freshly sorted. Our Instagram growth plans promote your public profile to people who match your audience at a steady daily pace, and you see each day's numbers in your dashboard. Nothing changes inside your account, and we never ask for your password.