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How Many Instagram Accounts Can You Have?

 
Nidhi Nangia
By Nidhi Nangia. May 27, 2018
How Many Instagram Accounts Can You Have?

Instagram's growth has been phenomenal, particularly among younger users who have grown tired of a cluttered Facebook. The streamlined service allows you to post images and videos easily, with an intuitive interface. It's great for those who just want to share their personal content with friends. Equally important is the benefit it can create for brand promotion. This dual use means some people will often want to keep a personal account for their personal life while promoting a brand for public use. If you have many irons in the fire or want to divide a brand into different hubs, you may need more than one or more Instagram accounts. Thanks to a software update, it has become easier to switch between different usernames, but just how many Instagram accounts can you have? oneHOWTO lets you know and shows you what you need to do to manage them properly on both Android and iOS.

You may also be interested in: Can Instagram Block You?

Why would you want more than one Instagram account?

The ability to manage multiple accounts on Instagram can benefit personal and business users in several ways. Reasons to have more than one Instagram accounts may include:

  • To distinguish different locations of your brand: if you have more than one branch of your business, then you can distinguish them by creating different Instagram accounts for each of them. If your business operates in multiple countries, you can make a different account for different locations. Your content may be location specific, so you don't want to promote something to customers in one area which will be of no benefit to those in another. It can be seen to waste time and alienate these customers.
  • To differentiate your brand into hubs: all of your content is unlikely to appeal to all of your customers. If you are a media company, your sports posts may not be as interesting to those who are more interested in other parts of culture. By creating relevant groups for the user it helps to ensure they only see content which appeals to them and will improve your growth.
  • To divide friendship groups: we all have different interactions with different types of friends and family. For instance, you can have different Instagram accounts, one for your relatives, another for your friends, one more for your football club members and an extra for your colleagues. You may not want to mix all of them in a single Instagram account as some content may be inappropriate depending on the group.
  • To separate business and private life: creating two different accounts for personal and business use is not only possible, it is recommended. You don't want to bore customers with your private life, nor do you want to share something which might be inappropriate as a business to publish.
  • You market for your company: although you can use an emulator, Instagram wants you to use its service from your mobile device. If you do marketing for your company (i.e. it's not actually your brand), you will find it easier to use your own phone, so adding your business account will allow you to switch between them easily. Just make sure you remember which is which.

How To create multiple Instagram accounts

In order to create multiple Instagram accounts, you need to create a new account so that it can be automatically connected to your main account. Before that, however, you need to ensure you the latest version of the Instagram app or at least have the 7.15 version or later. This was released in 2016, so if you have updated it since then, you will be fine.

Instagram allows you to have up to five accounts linked up to your app. The presumption is that you would only be using more than 5 accounts if you were doing something you shouldn't. However, this is not always the case as many marketers may work for different brands to help promote them. You will also need 5 different emails or to use Facebook or a phone number to create these different accounts.

It is also important to note that you cannot add new accounts by using the desktop version on your browser. You can't even switch between them as you will have to sign out and back in. There are some third party apps which allow you to do it, but there are often more trouble than they are worth.

Once you have the correct version installed, to set up a second account on Instagram:

  • Launch the Instagram app and goto your profile page.
  • On the top right corner, you will see a gear icon. Clicking on that icon will open Instagram Settings.
  • At the bottom, you will see an option to ‘Add Account’. If you have an existing account, you can type in the username and login or choose to login with your password. If not, you can goto the bottom of the screen and ‘Sign Up’ to establish a new account.
  • You will see options to sign up using your Facebook account, phone number or email address. However, if you have already dedicated your Facebook account to your primary Instagram account, then you will have no other option but to sign up with an email address or phone number.
  • If you have signed up with Facebook, then it’s as easy as logging into your Facebook account. However, if you are signing up with your phone number or email address, then make sure you give a unique one for this account.
  • If you used an email address, then you will need to log in to that account, open the email and click on ‘Confirm Email Address’. If you used your phone number, then you will receive a verification number that you have to enter in order to sign up.
  • Once you verify your account or phone number, click on ‘Next’.
  • You will be directed to your profile page where you can enter your name, profile photo and desired password.
  • Click ‘Next’.
  • Enter a username that will become your Instagram handle. It looks like @username, and you can change it later any time.
  • A username needs to be unique. If it is available to be taken, you will see a green tick mark beside it and if it is not unique, you will see a red ‘X’. If your desired username is not available to be taken, Instagram will suggest you a few names that you can choose. You can either choose one of these usernames, or make other changes such as adding numbers.
  • Tap ‘Next’.
  • It will ask if you want to connect with Facebook. If one of your Instagram accounts is already connected with Facebook, or if you do not want your new account connect with Facebook, you can tap ‘Skip’.
  • Once you do that, Instagram will automatically start searching your contacts and see how many of them are on Instagram. You also have the option to ‘skip’ this step, as it may take a few minutes.
  • Next, you will be directed to the ‘Discover People’ page. Follow the people you want to.
  • Tap ‘Done’.
  • Next, you will be directed to the home page of your new account and they will be connected automatically with each other.
How Many Instagram Accounts Can You Have? - How To create multiple Instagram accounts

How to add a new account to Instagram

If you already have an account set up which you want to add, you can do this easily. This allows you to switch between them without signing out and manage them at the same time. To add your new account on Instagram, follow these steps:

  • Launch Instagram app and goto your profile page.
  • You will see a Settings icon on the top right corner. Tap on that icon.
  • At the bottom, you will see an ‘Add Account’ option. Tap on it.
  • Enter the username and password of your new Instagram account, and tap ‘Login’. If you have connected your new account with Facebook, login using it.
  • Now, both your Instagram accounts are connected, and you can manage both of them through your app.
  • You can create more accounts and add them to your Instagram app using the same steps.

How to switch between multiple Instagram accounts

Now that you have all your profiles on the app, you may want to know how to switch from one account to the other? Follow these instructions:

  • When you launch app, you username will be displayed on the top of your profile page.
  • Click on the username at the top.
  • A dropdown menu will appear, which will have the names of all your Instagram accounts.
  • Select the account username that you want to open.
  • You will be directed to the profile page of the account that you selected. These steps allow you to open your Instagram account without logging out of the first one.

How to remove an account from your Instagram app

There are many reasons you may want to stop using an account. It could be due to a business closing, you leaving a job role, a redesign of your brand or even because you grew tired of a username. You may just want to remove it from the app, as you don’t want to use it on your device, but it can still be used on others. Whatever your reason, here’s how you can remove an Instagram account from your app:

  • Launch the app.
  • Reach your profile page.
  • Open the account that you want to remove.
  • Select the Settings icon on the top right corner.
  • Scroll down in the menu and log out.
  • Now, you will not be able to switch to that account without providing your username and password.

Sometimes removing an account from your Instagram app isn't enough. In these cases, you may be wondering how to delete your Instagram account properly, which we can also help you with.

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