How to change Instagram username

Instagram’s growth from a simple square-shaped picture-sharing app to the social giant it is today is nothing short of impressive. Instagram carved its slice of the pie by its adherence to keeping it simple. Even with all the competition out there, Instagram has stayed on its toes and made sure that their users have what they need. The username that you sign up with is not something that you have to be stuck with forever. You can change your username any time that you want as long as it hasn’t already been taken.

If the name that you typed in is already in use, you cannot use the same username, you might even need to test out a few before you land on one that is available. You can change your username through your smartphone (Android or iOS) or you can change it through your desktop browser. The steps to follow to do so have been listed below:

1) Change your Instagram username through your phone

Instagram is a social platform that was first made for phones and so we’ll be dealing with changing Instagram usernames for phones first.

a) Launch the Instagram app on your phone

b) Go to your profile tab that is located at the right side of the lower quick access bar.

c) Click on the button “Edit Profile” which can be found just below the information about your followers and following.

d) In the next page, you will be able to choose a new name for yourself under the “Username” section. (Note: You cannot pick a name that is being used by another user, you will need to try a few variations to find one that isn’t being used)

e) Click on the “save” button on the upper right corner once you’re done.

2) Change your Instagram username through your browser

If you aren’t an avid smartphone user and are accessing Instagram through a browser on your computer, the steps that you are supposed to follow are only a little bit different.

a) Open the Instagram website on your browser.

b) Go to your profile by clicking on the icon located on the top right corner.

c) On the profile page, click on the 'Edit profile’ button located next to your username.

d) In the 'Username’ section, enter the new name that you want to switch to. (Note: You cannot pick a name that is being used by another user, you will need to try a few variations to find one that isn’t being used)

e) After making all of the changes that you want to make, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Send” in order to save the changes.

The two methods above can be used to change your usernames in Instagram on your phone and your computer. Another fact to keep in mind is that once you change your username, your old name is up for grabs and anyone can start using it. So if you want to slip back to your old username, it might not still be there.