Social Media · Instagram app
How to Change Username on Instagram
Source-checked About 10 minutes
Answer
In Instagram, open your profile, select Edit profile, choose Username, enter an available handle, and save it. If Instagram routes profile details through Accounts Center, open Menu > Accounts Center > Profiles, choose the Instagram profile, then select Username; you cannot claim a handle that another account already uses.
Open your Instagram profile
Open Instagram while signed in to the account you want to rename, then select your profile picture at the bottom right. Confirm the profile shown is the correct account before editing it.
Open the Username field
Select Edit profile, then select Username. If that field opens Accounts Center instead, select Profiles, choose the Instagram profile, and select Username.
Enter an available username
Replace the current handle with the exact username you want. If Instagram says it is unavailable, try a genuinely different spelling or add a period, number, underscore, or abbreviation; an apparently inactive account does not make its handle claimable.
Save the change
Select Done or the check mark shown by Instagram. Wait for the edit screen to close or for Instagram to display a confirmation or review message before leaving the page.
Verify the new handle
Return to your profile and check the username displayed above the profile. Open the profile from another signed-in account or a browser if you need to confirm that the new public handle resolves correctly.
Video walkthrough
If it does not work
- If Instagram rejects the handle, change its spelling rather than repeatedly submitting the same unavailable name; Instagram does not release a username merely because its account looks inactive.
- If the Edit profile screen has no editable Username field, open your profile menu and use Accounts Center > Profiles > your Instagram profile > Username.
- If Instagram says the change is under review, leave the submitted name unchanged and wait for the in-app decision instead of submitting several variants.
Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: Instagram app.
Instagram documents editing profile information and recommends variants when a desired username is already claimed.