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How to Create Multiple Instagram Accounts and Manage Them (Without Crying)

Managing multiple Instagram accounts can be scary. What if you post to the wrong account? What if you get locked out of one of them?

Hannah Macready, Karolina Mikolajczyk October 24, 2022
cover illustration

Do you manage multiple Instagram accounts? If so, you know that it can be a pain to keep track of them all. Not to mention, if you use the same email address for all of your accounts, you have to constantly log in and out just to switch between them.

But what if I told you there was an Instagram hack that lets you manage multiple accounts with just one email?

It’s true! With a little bit of setup, you can easily add and manage several Instagram accounts from a single email address. Follow this guide to find out everything you need to know about running multiple Instagram accounts—and how to avoid posting to the wrong one.

Can I have multiple Instagram accounts?

Yes, you can have multiple Instagram accounts! In fact, you can now add up to five accounts and quickly switch between them without having to log out and log back in.

This feature is included in version 7.15 and above for iOS and Android and will work on any Instagram app using that software.

If you’re working with a later version, or simply want to manage more than five accounts at once, a social media dashboard like Hootsuite allows you to manage even more Instagram accounts and share the management responsibilities with other team members.

You can also have multiple YouTube channels, multiple Facebook pages, and multiple Twitter accounts. Check out the linked resources for more info there.

How to open multiple Instagram accounts

You can create multiple Instagram accounts on your phone right from the Instagram app.

To create a new Instagram account follow these steps:

  1. Open Instagram and go to your profile page.
  2. Tap the hamburger icon, then Settings.
  3. Tap Add Account.
  4. Click Create New Account.
  5. Choose a new username for your account. (Use our Instagram name generator if you need ideas.)
  6. Then, choose a password.
  7. Click Complete Sign-up.

 

add account option in instagram settings

 

 

complete sign up page when setting up new instagram account

You’re all set!

Once your accounts are set up, tap Add Account and then Log in to Existing Account. From there you can enter the login information for the account you want to add.

instagram account log in screen

Tap Log In, and your new account will be available through your main Instagram profile page.

How to switch between accounts on Instagram

Now that you know how to create a new Instagram account, you’re probably wondering how to switch between them.

To switch between multiple Instagram accounts:

  1. Go to your profile page and tap your username in the top left. This will open a pop-up window showing all accounts you’re logged into.
  2. Choose which account you want to use. The selected account will open.
  3. Post, comment, like, and engage as much as you like on this account. When you’re ready to switch to a different account, tap your username again to select a different account.

multiple instagram accounts shown on profile page

Note: You will stay logged in to the last account you used on Instagram. Before posting or engaging with new content, always check to make sure you’re using the right account.

How to manage multiple Instagram accounts on mobile

Once you’ve set up more than one Instagram account, you’ll want to manage them all efficiently. Here’s how to do it from your phone.

Manage multiple Instagram accounts using the Instagram native tool

If you are simply looking to start a branded Instagram account for your side hustle, alongside your personal account, and want to easily switch back and forth between the two, the Instagram app itself might be enough to suit your needs.

How to post on multiple accounts on the Instagram app

With your new Instagram accounts set up, you can now post to any of the accounts you have added to the Instagram app. Simply select the account you want to use from the drop-down menu in your profile, and start posting as usual.

You can always tell which account you’re using by looking at the profile photo. The profile photo can be quite small in some views, so choose distinct photos to make sure you always post to the right account.

Here’s what it looks like in Story view.

profile photo shown in bottom left corner of instagram story post

Here’s what it looks like when posting to your feed.

toggle option for choosing instagram account to post to

Manage multiple Instagram accounts using Hootsuite

Using a social media management platform like Hootsuite, you can easily manage all of your social media accounts (including one or more Instagram accounts) from your computer. Hootsuite also provides access to advanced features like bulk scheduling and detailed analytics.

Adding multiple Instagram accounts to Hootsuite on mobile

The first step to using multiple Instagram accounts in Hootsuite is to add them to your dashboard. Here’s how to get them set up using the Hootsuite mobile app.

  1. Log in to your Hootsuite dashboard.
  2. Click your profile photo in the top left corner. Then, click Social accounts.
  3. Tap the + button in the top right-hand corner to add a new social account. Choose Instagram.
  4. Next, choose between connecting an Instagram business account or an Instagram personal account.
  5. If you choose an Instagram business account you’ll need to log in through Facebook. If you choose a personal account, you’ll be directed to the Instagram app to log in.
  6. Repeat the steps for each Instagram account you want to add to Hootsuite.

add social accounts in hootsuite dashboard

instagram personal and business account log in hootsuite

How to switch between Instagram accounts on Hootsuite mobile

To view your Instagram accounts at a glance and switch between them easily, add your posts for each account as a stream in the Hootsuite dashboard.

  1. Click Streams. Then, Manage boards and streams.
  2. From there, add or subtract Streams as needed.
  3. Repeat for each of your Instagram accounts.

multiple instagram and social media accounts shown in hootsuite streams

 

add or subtract instagram accounts in hootsuite app

Now you know how to view all your Instagram accounts on Hootsuite, so you can easily switch between them.

How to post on multiple Instagram accounts using Hootsuite mobile

You can use Hootsuite to post to any of the Instagram accounts you have added to your Hootsuite dashboard.

Here’s how to get started.

  1. In the Hootsuite dashboard, click Compose and select the Instagram account you want to publish from.
  2. You can select multiple accounts if you want to publish the same post to more than one Instagram account.
  3. Add your photo and text, then click Post Now, Auto Schedule, or Custom Schedule.

add social accounts in hootsuite compose

select social account

auto publish, publish now, and custom publishing options in hootsuite composer

If you choose Post Now, the post will publish directly to your Instagram account. If you choose Auto Schedule, it will post at the most optimized time. Custom Schedule lets you choose the date and time to post.

To switch to a different Instagram account, return to step 1 and choose a different account.

Learn more about publishing to Instagram accounts using Hootsuite here:

https://youtu.be/t8H9RoCKG7s

How to manage multiple Instagram accounts on desktop

By now you’re probably wondering, how do I manage multiple Instagram accounts on my desktop?

If you’re managing multiple business accounts, it’s a good idea to use the Hootsuite dashboard for your posts, rather than managing your accounts directly within the Instagram app.

For one thing, the Instagram desktop app is not as proficient as the mobile app. If you want to manage several Instagram accounts on Instagram for desktop, you’ll need to log out and in every time you want to use a different account.

Not to mention, the Instagram app is limited to managing 5 Instagram accounts, including both business and personal accounts. But on Hootsuite, business users can add up to 35 social profiles to their dashboards.

As well, managing multiple business Instagram accounts in Hootsuite also allows you to collaborate with team members and access advanced analytics from the same platform you use to manage and measure your other social accounts.

Connecting Instagram accounts to Hootsuite on desktop

If you want to learn how to manage multiple business Instagram accounts, you need to make sure each of your Instagram accounts is connected to a Facebook Page.

Classic pages

  1. To connect a classic Instagram account to Hootsuite, sign in to your Facebook account and select Pages. Then, choose your page from the options shown.
  2. Open your page and select Settings.
  3. Then, select Instagram.

instagram settings in facebook page manager

If you haven’t yet connected your account, you’ll be prompted to do so. You’ll need to enter your Instagram account details. Once you’re logged in, you’re ready to connect to Hootsuite. More info on that below.

New pages experience

If you’re using Meta’s new pages experience, follow these steps to connect your Instagram for business account.

  1. Sign in to your Facebook account and select your profile picture from the top right-hand corner. Then, click See all profiles.
  2. Choose the page you want to manage.
  3. Once you’re using your page, click Manage under your page’s cover photo.
  4. Chooses Instagram and then Connect account. Enter your Instagram account details and you’re ready to go.
  5. Then, select Linked accounts from the left-hand menu.

see all profiles option on facebook

 

manage button on facebook page homepage

 

linked accounts option in facebook page settings

 

connecting instagram account to facebook page

Now you can add your Instagram business accounts to Hootsuite. Simply navigate to your Hootsuite dashboard on desktop, log in, and click Add social account at the top of your Streams view.

add social account to hootsuite desktop

Repeat these steps for each Instagram business account you want to add to Hootsuite.

Watch this video for a visual walkthrough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI4mP4gUlok&feature=emb_imp_woyt

How to post on multiple Instagram accounts on Hootsuite desktop

Log into your Hootsuite dashboard and click on the Composer icon. Then, choose Post.

hootsuite dashboard showing composer icon and post options

In Composer, choose the Instagram accounts you want to publish to. You can choose multiple accounts, or just one.

choosing multiple instagram accounts in hootsuite composer

Add your copy, images, videos, and any relevant tags to your post.

From there, you can choose to post right now or schedule your post for later. Be sure to use the best times to post when scheduling content in the future.

How to manage multiple Instagram accounts with a creator profile

As we said before, the Instagram desktop version isn’t ideal for managing multiple accounts. If you’re looking for a simple solution for managing Instagram on a desktop, try Facebook’s free dashboard, Creator Studio.

Creator Studio makes it possible to post and schedule content to multiple accounts and access Instagram Insights from desktop and mobile.

To connect to Instagram in Creator Studio, follow these steps:

  1. Switch to a business profile or creator account.
  2. Go to Creator Studio and click on the Instagram icon at the top of the screen.
  3. Follow the prompts to sign into Instagram from Creator Studio. You will need to use your Instagram username and password.

That’s it!

If your Instagram account is connected to a Facebook Page, the process may look a little different depending on the relationship between your Facebook Page and Instagram account.

How push notifications work with multiple Instagram accounts

If you have push notifications for several Instagram accounts turned on, you will get notifications for all of them on your mobile device.

Each notification will indicate the relevant account name in brackets before the content of the notification.

instagram notification shown on home screen of iphone

Tapping a notification will take you directly to the relevant Instagram account, regardless of which account you last used.

If you’re using Instagram and a notification comes in from one of your other accounts, you will see the notification at the top of your screen.

instagram notification shown at top of screen

If you’re managing multiple Instagram accounts on one device, it might be overwhelming to have them all sending push notifications. Fortunately, you can adjust the push notifications for each of your Instagram accounts separately.

Here’s how to change your notification settings on Instagram:

  1. From the account you wish to adjust notifications for, tap the hamburger icon in the top right, then tap Settings.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Choose which actions you want notifications for this account. You can also choose to pause notifications for up to 8 hours.
  4. Repeat the steps for each account to customize the push notifications you get for each of your Instagram accounts.

How to delete multiple Instagram accounts

At some point, you might want to remove one of your Instagram accounts from the app.

Why? Since you can manage a maximum of five accounts from the Instagram app, you might want to remove an account in order to make room to add a new one.

Or, maybe you’re no longer working on a particular account and simply want to make sure you don’t post to it accidentally.

Here’s how to remove an Instagram account on your phone:

  1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile. Tap the hamburger icon, then Settings. If you’re on an Android phone, choose Multi-account login. Apple Instagram users choose Login info.
  2. Deselect the account you want to remove, then tap Remove in the pop-up box. 
  3. Note that, although it may seem like you’re finished, you haven’t actually removed the account from your app yet—you’ve just removed it from the Multi-Account Login. There are a few more steps to remove it from the app.
  4. Next, go back to your profile, and switch to the account you want to remove.
  5. Tap the hamburger icon, then Settings.
  6. Tap Log Out [username], then tap Log Out in the pop-up box.

remove account on instagram app

log out of multiple accounts instagram

When you go back to your profile and tap on your username, you will see the removed account is no longer included in the drop-down.

Repeat these steps for each account you’d like to delete.

Note: Removing your account from the app does not delete your account. If you want to delete your account (forever), follow the steps provided by Instagram.

An app to manage multiple Instagram accounts in one place

Easily manage all your Instagram accounts in one place with Hootsuite. Save time by scheduling and publishing content, engaging with your audience, and analyzing your results—all from a single platform. Plus, Hootsuite gives you the ability to collaborate with team members, so you can get more done together.

Ready to give it a try? Try a free trial of Hootsuite Pro today!

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By Hannah Macready

Hannah Macready is a freelance writer with 12 years of experience in social media and digital marketing. Her work has appeared in publications such as Fast Company and The Globe & Mail, and has been used in global social media campaigns for brands like Grosvenor Americas and Intuit Mailchimp. In her spare time, Hannah likes exploring the outdoors with her two dogs, Soup and Salad.

Read more by Hannah Macready
By Karolina Mikolajczyk

Karolina Mikolajczyk is a Senior Inbound Marketing Strategist and associate editor of the Hootsuite blog. After completing her Master’s degree in English, Karolina launched her marketing career in 2014. Before joining Hootsuite in 2021, she worked with digital marketing agencies, SaaS startups, and international corporations, helping businesses and social media content creators grow their online presence and improve conversions through SEO and content marketing strategies.

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