Instagram is the most popular social networking platform in the world today. It has over a billion active users every month, which is more than the population of Canada. Which is primarily used to share photos and videos. But it also has a large community of users who use it for connecting with friends and finding new interests. It is primarily designed for mobile users, but it has recently started to expand its features to the web.
But have you ever had a username that you used on other social media platforms, but not on Instagram? Maybe you had a username that you used on Instagram years ago. And now you want to get an inactive Instagram username to use on the platform? If so, you can follow the steps below.
What is Instagram’s Inactive Username Policy?
It’s obvious thousand of people create their Instagram accounts on a daily basis. They only tend to create an account but often fail to use them. This account falls under Instagram’s Inactive Username Policy. Instagram states in its Policy that people should log in and use the app once they create their account. To keep your account active, make sure you engage yourself with other creators or perform some action.
Instagram has a few parameters to determine whether an account is inactive. It is based on when was account created and when was the last time user logged in to the account. Along with that they also consider your profile activity which could be sharing, liking, or commenting on photos.
Instagram doesn’t have a specific timeline for when they can delete an inactive account based on the above factors. However, Instagram deletes bot and inactive accounts once in a while to make the platform spam free and clean.
Is It Possible To Get An Inactive Instagram Username?
Many users assume that if an account hasn’t been used in a long period, they can claim it. However, this isn’t always the case. In most cases, you can’t claim an inactive Instagram account. This is because Instagram doesn’t have a way to confirm when an account is inactive.
If you are a recognizable public figure or a brand, you may be able to claim an inactive account that is held by another person. But in such a case, you need to come up with solid documents to prove it.
How To Find An Inactive Account?
- To find an Inactive Instagram Account you must download a third party app called Mass Unfollow for Instagram.
- Now open up the app and then log in with your IG credential.
- At the bottom tap on “Follower.”
- Next, hit “Select” and tap on “Select inactive users.”
- Tap on “Ok” and then it will load for a while.
- At last, they show you all inactive user’s in blue.
How To Get An Inactive Instagram Username?
1. Give Them a Monetary Value
There are different ways to do this and the first way is to find the username that you’re looking for. So go ahead and follow them and message them it’s the simplest way to do it. Well, you don’t know if they’re going to respond considering it is an inactive account.
But every Instagram account has an attached email or phone number and so somebody might be just having it. They would maybe give it to you or you could give them a monetary value. Pay them however to get that account from them and so that’s the first thing you can do. You can offer what you want to offer and try to get that account for yourself.
2. Copyright or Trademark That Account Username
Now if that’s not working out for you. The other thing you can do is to copyright or trademark that account username into your own brand. And then report it to Instagram. So I’ll walk you through how to do that.
- First, you want to go to the Instagram help center. Which you can type into your browser. Click on the first result and up top, at the search bar you can search impersonating on Instagram.
- The first thing that comes up is “what can I do if someone I know is being impersonated on Instagram” you can click on that.
- At the bottom, it says “if someone is pretending to be you on Instagram you can report it here.” Go ahead and tap on that link.
- Now it brings you to a page and asks who is being impersonated and what is the situation. So you need to select the option “someone creates an account pretending to be me or a friend.” And then it says “is this account impersonating you” and you’re gonna select yes.
- Next, you need to fill out your first name and last name. Your email and then the full name of the account you’re reporting. At last, choose a file to back up your case.
- So in additional information what you want to do is plead your case by saying “why this account is infringing upon your brand.”
- If you want to get another account’s username and it’s an inactive account. Either your name or your first and last name. You can just put in your photos and say that this account was impersonating me and it’s my brand. Plead your case that way and put as many details as possible.
You Can Use a Website For Strong Proof!
Now if it’s just a random name or a brand name. You can go ahead and make a free website and make anything that could trademark or copyright that username. That you can provide proof of so get a free website. Then go ahead and use that by screenshotting pictures of that website.
Upload it underneath the file of your id and then in that information talk about how it’s infringing on your brand. And how you need to get that account for yourself. Instagram takes this seriously. So if you do it this way and you provide that kind of information you will get the username that you want.
3. Create a Username With Variations
It’s hard to have a desired username on Instagram but you can still try with different variations. You can workaround your desired username by putting variations like a number or underscore. This way you don’t have to compromise on your brand as well.
People are very much creative with their usernames these days. Since Instagram has tons of users it is not possible to get an easy username. So try to add numbers or underscore in your username and stand out from your audience.
4. Wait Until Instagram Deletes That Account
It is one of the utmost priorities of IG to keep the place clean. So indeed Instagram will eventually delete all inactive and bots accounts. However, it doesn’t guarantee that we are going to get that username. Since IG will not notify of such a thing.
To get that username you must follow that account and keep doing it until Instagram deletes that account. Once you find that the account has been deactivated you can go ahead and apply for that username by contacting Instagram.
Will You Be Able To Report An Inactive Account?
You have probably seen Instagram posts from accounts that seem pretty inactive. Maybe they only have a few dozen followers, or they haven’t posted in a long time. Either way, these accounts can still appear when you search for specific hashtags or locations. However, we cannot report an inactive account. Because Instagram doesn’t have anything to do with it. It doesn’t have any Rule to delete accounts for being inactive.
Also Read: Does Instagram Delete Inactive Accounts?
How Does Instagram Identify If An Account Is Inactive?
Well, as long as Instagram sees any single activity on an account it will not consider it inactive. If that’s the case then in the eye of Instagram your account will be safe from being inactive.
However, IG determines an account to be inactive on several things. This includes on which date the account was created and if an account is showing any activity or not. If you’re logging into your IG account once a month that will also be considered an activity even if you’re not doing anything.
What Does Instagram Do With Inactive Accounts?
Once an account flagged as inactive then Instagram will definitely get rid of that account. It’s not clear how much time Instagram will take to delete the inactive account. It’s also true that Instagram focuses to clear bot accounts to maintain a spam free platform. Along with that they sometimes remove inactive accounts as well.
You can also report these accounts that sit inactive for a long period of time. But it’s hard to tell if an account is inactive or not. In that case, Instagram will determine if they are going to remove that account or not. Based on their judgment.
Final Thought
Hope this article helps you understand how to get an inactive Instagram username. If you have doubts you can let me know in the comments below!
