What Does It Mean When It Says 'Instagram User'?

Have you ever scrolled through your DMs on Instagram and noticed a profile that says “Instagram User” instead of their actual name and had no profile picture? If you’ve come across this, you might have asked yourself, "What does it mean when it says "Instagram User" instead of the person’s name?

Before you start making any guesses, keep on reading the post below. We are going to explain the ‘Instagram User’ meaning. Also, we are going to touch upon ‘What does it mean when Instagram says “User not found’”.

What it means when you see "Instagram User" in DMs

When you see a chat in your DMs with “Instagram User” instead of the person’s name and a blank photo instead of their profile picture, there may be several reasons for this.

Instagram User means that the person has either temporarily deactivated their Instagram account, permanently deleted their Instagram account, they have been banned, or they have blocked you.

Keep in mind that you may also see the tag “Instagrammer” instead of “Instagram User” in DM or a person’s account.

The user has deleted their account

One of the reasons why you see the “Instagram User” in your chats instead of a username is that the person has deleted their Instagram account.

Also, if someone deleted their account and you visit their Instagram profile, you’ll also see "Instagram User" instead of their actual username and an empty profile without any pictures.

You can also see your previous conversation with them. You can message them, but the message won’t be delivered because the user doesn’t exist - they have permanently deleted the account.

When a user deletes their account, they are no longer part of the Instagram community. The user’s profile picture gets removed from their profile, as well as their user ID or handle. You can access the chat with that user in DMs, but you won’t see their profile picture or their Instagram name.

The user has temporarily deactivated or disabled their account

Another reason you may be seeing “Instagram User” instead of a name is that the person has temporarily disabled or deactivated their Instagram account.

Sometimes users just want to take a break from Instagram and social media in general, but want to come back after some time.

If someone has deactivated their account, you’ll still be able to read the previous chat. However, if you send any messages, they won’t be delivered until and unless the person reactivates their account.

The user’s account has been banned by Instagram

Like other social media platforms, Instagram has certain terms and conditions that users need to respect when they are using the platform. If a user violates Instagram’s terms of service with activities such as abusing other accounts or engaging in inappropriate behavior, Instagram will ban or suspend their account.

Instagram bans the accounts of users who have been reported by others. Usually, accounts are banned for a limited time, such as 48 hours. But an account can also be suspended permanently depending on the violation level and nature.

You’ve been blocked on Instagram

Another reason why you are seeing "Instagram User" is that the person has blocked you. Apart from not seeing their username, you’ll also not be able to see their profile image, post count, follower, and following count.

If you suspect that the user has blocked you and you want to check if it’s true, you can try messaging them from another account. If the message is delivered, then the user has definitely not deleted or deactivated their account; rather, they have blocked you.

Also, if you’ve been blocked by someone, you won’t be able to find their profile in search results when you search for them.

You might also like to read: How to know if someone restricted you on Instagram.

What does "User not found" mean on Instagram

In all the cases above, if you try to visit the person’s profile or search for them on Instagram, you will also receive the "User not found" message.

However, "User not found" on Instagram may also appear if:

You’ve mistyped their username

If you are searching for a person and made a typo when typing in their username, you’ll get the "User not found" error message. Double-check the spelling of the username and check if you’ve mistyped it.

Double-check the spelling; the most likely solution is you simply mistyped the username.

Mistyping is not uncommon - with a billion registered accounts on Instagram, creating unique, easy-to-read, and easy-to-spell usernames. So users use weird character combinations that aren’t spelled as pronounced, which can easily be misspelled.

The user has changed their username

Another reason why you might get the "User not found" error message is that the user has changed their username.

When this happens, Instagram usually forwards you to the new username profile automatically, but this might not always be the case due to some internal bug. This may cause the user page not to be found and displays the error message.

Now that you know what it means when you see the "Instagram User" tag instead of the person’s username or the "User not found" error message, check out how do I fix the ‘Confirm your information on the app’ and 'Sorry We Couldn't Complete Your Request' error messages.

Conclusion

When you see the tag “Instagram User” or “Instagrammer”, it might first come to mind that the person has blocked you. Although this is one possible explanation, it’s not the only one. The other reason why you are seeing this is that the user has deleted their Instagram account, temporarily disabled it, or has been suspended.

Moreover, if you see the "User not found" error message, it may also mean that the user has either changed their username, or you have misspelled their name while searching for them.

Additional questions (FAQs)