How do I recover my Instagram account?

If you are locked out of your Instagram account, or even if you account has been disabled, we can help you get it back. Here's everything that you need to do to recover your account.

Oct 9, 2019

An Instagram account can be disabled or banned for several reasons such as spamming, being dormant, aggressive activities, posting copyrighted content without permission, buying followers, comments, likes and views, and so on. If your Instagram account has been recently banned or disabled for whatever reason, there is a good chance you can still recover it.

How to Recover Your Disabled Instagram Account

Following the steps mentioned below should help you get back your account:

  1. Go to your Instagram app and on the login page choose Get help signing in.
  2. On the next page input your Username.

You may experience some issues if for some reason you had changed your Instagram account username, mobile phone number or email multiple times. If you see the error message, try inputting the original email ID you used the first time you signed up for an account.

  1. Once you succeed, Instagram will email you a Recovery code. Follow the instructions provided in the email.
  2. Thereafter, Instagram will send you a link for resetting your password.

How to Recover Your Banned Instagram Account

Instagram reserves the right to delete an account that violates their terms of use. If your account has been banned, the following steps should help you recover it:

  1. You will have to do this on a desktop computer. Ensure the computer is operating on your home IP address rather than proxies and VPNs.
  2. Go to https://help.instagram.com/contact/1652567838289083 and fill out the form you find.
  3. Always choose No.
  4. Select whatever name you want. It does not matter which name you select.
  5. Enter your Instagram account username.
  6. Enter your email address.
  7. Always choose the United States option even if you are not from this country.
  8. After you have filled out the form, you will get an email from Instagram in a few minutes.
  9. Attach your selfie as stated in the email and press send.

Contact Instagram

If you are unable to recover your account using the steps mentioned above, you should try to contact Instagram directly through any of the following ways:

  1. Search for Instagram's Help Center on the internet,
  2. From your Instagram account, you can tap on 'Something's not working'
  3. Access the privacy and safety center and choose 'Report Something' to report the issue
  4. Open the Instagram Facebook page to send them a direct message.

Know the Instagram's Community Guidelines

By following Instagram's guidelines, you can avoid account deactivation in the future. Some of these guidelines are:

  1. Post videos and pictures that belong to you i.e., the ones you claim are yours.
  2. Any video or picture that you upload on Instagram should be appropriate for both children and adults. Do not post sexual or violent material or nude photos. Besides, stay away from content that can lead to self-injury.
  3. Respect other Instagram users
  4. Avoid sending spam: Instagram does not allow repetitive material, or manipulating the platform for commercial purposes, websites or discount codes.

Know Instagram's Terms of Use

If you do not follow Instagram's terms of use, the company has the right to terminate your account without giving you a previous notice. Some of these rules are:

  1. You should be 13 years old and older to use the service.
  2. You should not sell or transfer your Instagram account to another person.
  3. You should not ask for information to use other accounts.
  4. You shouldn't post discriminatory, sexual or violent content.
  5. Do not send spam to other Instagram users.
  6. Do not create Instagram accounts using non-authorized means such as automated gadgets or bots.
  7. You should not restrict other users from using Instagram.
  8. You should not transfer a virus or a destructive code.
  9. Do not access the company's private API.
  10. Never use your account for illegal purposes.
  11. You are liable for anything that happens via your account.
  12. Avoid sharing your password with others.

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Jeff truly believes that all customers deserve good service. He’s been building tools, inventing phone tree hacks and helping customers since before his days at GetHuman. He's also a Google GDE and involved in the Angular community.
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GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like Instagram in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our How do I recover my Instagram account? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

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