Does Instagram delete inactive accounts?- Unused Instagram accounts‍

Written by: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, Founder at Flexiple, buildd & Remote Tools.
Last updated: Sep 03, 2024

Instagram is huge! It has more than two billion active users. It is considered a hub of opportunities for influencers, brands, content creators, and internet marketers.

However, Instagram likes to keep things running smoothly. Hence, it has taken several measures related to its user inactivity or violations of terms of use.

Do you want to deactivate your account but think Instagram will remove your account if you don’t stay active? Worry not! We'll break everything down for you in this article. Let's jump right in and find out Does Instagram delete inactive accounts?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Does Instagram delete inactive accounts?

Yes, Instagram indeed deletes inactive accounts. But this happens only if remain inactive for an extended period. Moreover, both personal and brand accounts might face this issue if they remain inactive. However, different rules determine if an inactive account will get deleted.

But again it can be easily countered by logging in every once in a while.

Which Instagram Account Is Considered Inactive?

An account that has not been in use for a specific period is considered inactive. For instance, Ever seen those accounts displayed as "user not found" ? They might be inactive. Inactivity doesn't necessarily mean absence of regular posts and stories.

In fact, most users just log in to their accounts. All they do is like, comment or share. As a result, Instagram does not consider them inactive. Even the slightest activity (even a single like) will stop Instagram’s algorithm from flagging it as an inactive account. Therefore, if you keep interacting with other posts in any way, your account is basically immune to the inactivity flag.

When does Instagram delete inactive accounts?

Instagram has never clearly spoken on this issue. Therefore, there is no hard and fast rule for how much time needs to pass before an inactive account is deleted.

However, it encourages the users to log in and use the platform frequently to avoid the risk of getting their accounts deleted. Also, you can read about it in Instagram’s inactive username policy.

Although there are no official statements on this topic, some users believe that Instagram deletes accounts if they were completely inactive for 1 to 2 years.

How to prevent deleting your Instagram account?

You can follow these tips to protect your account from becoming inactive:

Link your Instagram and Facebook accounts. Furthermore, enable the Instagram sharing option whenever you post on Facebook. Here's how you can do it:

Start writing a new post on your Facebook Page.
Add a photo to your post. Just ensure that the image you add is either of 4:3 or 1:1.
Add a caption to your image. The same reflect on Instagram and Facebook.

Another way to tackle inactivity is by sharing your Instagram account link on other social platforms for others to follow. We suggest this because an increase in follower count will make the account active.

Also, try to log in once in a while.

Don’t set your account to private to increase the chance of someone might like your post.

Does Instagram delete inactive accounts- Restoration of deleted accounts?

Now we've dealt with our main concern- Does Instagram delete inactive accounts? Let's see if we can restore our deleted accounts.

Unfortunately, Instagram doesn't restore any deleted accounts. Therefore, restoration isn't usually possible. Once deleted, the account is gone forever.

However, you can appeal for account restoration (If Instagram deletes your account). Although the appeal doesn't guarantee account recovery, you can still give it a try.

To file an account restoration appeal, you can follow the steps below-

Collect all necessary evidence to challenge the deletion.
Contact the support by email or on live chat.
Show them the evidence and request account restoration.

Although account restoration is rare, you should definitely try. There have been cases where Instagram accidentally deleted an account without any major reason but restored it after an appeal. However, you can’t bring it back if it was deleted by you. The appeal only works when the account is hacked, or Instagram deletes it.

Does Instagram delete inactive accounts- Other reasons for account deletion?

Inactivity is one of the minor reasons for Instagram account deletion. In general, Instagram has different algorithms for detecting users breaking its laws. So, breaking any of the rules can lead to the deletion of your account.

For example, if Instagram finds out that you have posted a post with immoral content, it will first delete the post and then close your account completely by repeating this move.

The major ones are entirely different from inactivity. Here's a list of reasons why an account may get deleted-

Your account can be blocked if your posts or stories contain nudity.
If you get reported for harassing other users, you might lose your account.
Account users under the age of 13, upon identification will lose their account.
Instagram flags hate speech and terminate accounts associated with it.
Instagram has rules in place to protect users from malware and hackers. They delete accounts linked to it.
Spamming accounts are also deleted by Instagram. Watch out!

Can you take one of the inactive usernames?

Often on Instagram you might find attractive usernames. But sadly at the time of registration you may find out they are already in use. So, what is the solution?

Firstly, you can make sure that the account is inactive. Then, you can report it to find out if this account is inactive or not. If your report is approved, the account gets deleted. And there You can have the username!

Here's how to check this-

Step 1: Look at its profile and see if it has a photo.
Step 2: Check if there are any posts on this page. (and if there are, check when the last post was made)
Step 3: See if it has a follower or not.
Step 4: If everything indicates that the page/user is inactive, you can report it!

What to do if you could not log in on Instagram?

At times, you can't log in on Instagram for some reason. There are many ways to overcome this. For example, you can return to your account via mobile number, email, or Facebook. Simply follow these steps and reactivate your account:

First of all, open the Instagram login page
Then, select the Help me with sign-in option and choose one of the methods
A link is sent to you through the method of your choice. Open the link and return to your Instagram account easily!

FAQ- Does Instagram delete inactive accounts?

a. Does Instagram send a warning before deleting the account?

After the latest update, Instagram has started sending a warning before deleting any account.

Every time they decide to terminate an account they will deliver a warning by email before they proceed. If you can act timely to that warning and sort out the issue, you might prevent it from happening. So watch out!

b. How many reports can result in an Instagram account getting deleted?

At least four or five reports from the different Instagram accounts will prompt Instagram’s support team to permanently delete the reported account. But this happens only if the account violates Instagram’s terms of use.

c. What is the difference between account deletion and ban?

Generally, Instagrammers consider both the same, but they are very different. While account deletion is a complete account removal, a ban is a temporary hold on any account.

Banned accounts can be quickly recovered. But recovering deleted accounts takes ages! Most of the time, temporary bans are even lifted without any complaint by the user to the support.