In the early years of social media, you could change the name of your profile any number of times but now making changes to your name on any social media app comes with its own set of restrictions. If you’ve been meaning to change your display name or username on Instagram, the following post should explain how often you can change them, how to do it, and what you can do if you aren’t able to change your name on the platform.
Can you change the display name and username on Instagram?
Instagram has two placements for your name – your display name and your username and thankfully, you can change both of them from within the mobile app with ease.
The display name is where you usually enter your actual name and this name appears just under your Instagram picture inside your profile. Display names don’t have any kind of character restriction and need not be unique to your profile either. You can change your display name twice in 2 weeks (14 days) and no more.
Usernames, on the other hand, are unique identifiers, meaning your exact username can only be used by you and no one else. At a time, you can add a username of up to 30 characters, including letters, numbers, underscores, and periods. Unlike display names, usernames on Instagram can be changed any number of times, as long as the name you’re updating to is available for taking in the first place.
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How to change your display name on Instagram
You can modify your display name if you haven’t changed it more than once in the last 14 days.
- Open the Instagram app on your phone.
- Now, tap on the Profile icon at the bottom right corner.
- This will load up your Instagram profile on the screen. To change your display name from here, tap on Edit Profile underneath your account bio.
- In the Edit Profile screen that appears, tap on the Name text field.
- You will now see the Name screen with a text field showing your current display name.
- Here, enter your new display name in this text field and tap on Done at the top right corner.
- Your new display name will now show up beside “Name” inside the Edit Profile screen. To proceed with this change, tap on Done at the top right corner.
- Your Instagram profile will now show the new display name you just applied.
Related: What Happens When You Temporarily Disable Instagram?
How to change your username on Instagram
You can change your username on Instagram to something new provided that this new username meets the following criteria:
- The new username isn’t already taken by someone else on Instagram
- The number of characters in the new username equals 30 or less.
- The username doesn’t contain characters other than letters, numbers, underscores, and periods. You cannot add spaces and other signs to an Instagram username.
- The username doesn’t consist of restricted language like profane words.
If you’re aware of the above username criteria, you can go ahead and change your username by following the steps below.
- Open the Instagram app on your phone.
- Inside Instagram, tap on the Profile icon at the bottom right corner.
- This will load up your Instagram profile on the screen. To change your username from here, tap on Edit Profile underneath your account bio.
- In the Edit Profile screen that appears, tap on the Username text field.
- You will now arrive at the Username screen showing your current Instagram username at the top. To clear the existing username, tap on the x icon on the right-hand side of the Username text field.
- Now, enter the new username you wish to apply to your Instagram account. When you’re done typing the new username, tap on Done at the top right corner.
- The new username will now be visible on the Edit Profile screen. To confirm changes, tap on Done at the top right corner.
- Your Instagram profile will now show the updated username at the top of your profile.
Can you change your display name before 14 days?
You can change your display name to something else if:
- You haven’t changed it before on Instagram.
- You have only changed it once in the last 14 days.
In case you’ve changed your display name on Instagram twice in two weeks’ time, then you would have to wait for 14 days from when you last changed it to modify it further. There’s no option to change your display name when you find yourself in this situation other than waiting out the 14-day period since you last modified the name.
If your Instagram username is what you want to change, there’s no restriction to how often you can change it. You can add a new username to your Instagram profile any number of times without a time limitation, provided that the new name is available for taking and meets the platform’s username guidelines.
Related: How to see How Many Times Someone Views Your Instagram Story?
I cannot change my name on Instagram. What can I do?
If you recently changed your display name on Instagram twice within 14 days, you won’t be able to change it again for another 2 weeks which means, you may stay stuck with your last display name for a while. If you think the last name you applied on Instagram is embarrassing or may damage your follower count on the platform, you can prevent this name from showing up on your Instagram profile by removing it for the time being.
- Open the Instagram app on your phone.
- Inside Instagram, tap on the Profile icon at the bottom right corner.
- This will load up your Instagram profile on the screen. To remove your display name from here, tap on Edit Profile underneath your account bio.
- In the Edit Profile screen that appears, tap on the Name section.
- On the next screen, tap on the x icon on the right-hand side of the “Name” text box.
- The text field under “Name” will be empty. Now, tap on Done at the top right corner to save changes.
- In the Edit Profile screen, you will see that the Name section is kept blank and it no longer hosts the previous name you set for your account. To proceed with the name removal, tap on Done at the top right corner.
- Your Instagram profile will now no longer show a display name underneath your profile picture.
Others who view your profile will only be able to see your Instagram bio below your profile picture. If it’s been over 14 days since you last changed your display name, you can revert to your original or preferred name using the guide above.
That’s all you need to know about changing your Instagram name before 14 days.
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