How To Find a “User Not Found” on Instagram

Are you trying to find someone’s Instagram profile, and all you’re coming up with is “User not found”? Don’t worry; you’re not the only one. This frustrating message often appears on Instagram, and several reasons can be behind it.

If you’re interested in learning what the “User not found” message on Instagram means, you’ve come to the right place. This article will explain every possible meaning of this message.

User Not Found on Instagram

Here are the potential reasons for the “User not found” message on your Instagram:

Typo

In some cases, the “User not found” message can appear due to a typo. If you’re trying to find an Instagram user and you misspelled their username, you’ll most likely see this message. Before anything else, double-check your spelling.

The User Has Changed Their Username

Contrary to other social media, Instagram makes changing a username very easy, regardless of the platform. If the user you’re trying to look up changed their username, you may see the “User not found” message.

How is this possible? Namely, Instagram uses a person’s username as the basis of the URL that leads to their profile. When the person changes their username, their Instagram “location” changes as well. Although Instagram usually redirects the user to a new location, that might not always happen. So, if you tried to look up the person using their old username, you may receive the “User not found” message because, technically, that location doesn’t exist anymore.

Here’s how you can confirm this is the problem:

• Check other social media platforms – Check the person’s Facebook or Snapchat profiles and see whether they’ve updated their information.
  
• Check the Following or Followers lists – If you’re trying to find a person with whom you share followers, you can go to one of the mutual followers’ profiles and search for their name. You’ll likely be able to recognize the profile photo or the name.
  
• Check chat history – If you’ve exchanged messages with the person in question, try to find the chat in your Instagram inbox. You can visit their profile from there.
  

The User Has Temporarily Disabled Their Account

Instagram allows users to “shut down” their accounts temporarily. This is a convenient option for everyone who wants to take a break from social media and return whenever they’re ready. While it’s enough for some people to simply not open Instagram, others prefer disabling the account.

If a person has temporarily disabled their account and you’re trying to look them up, you’ll see the “User not found” message.

You can confirm whether this is the reason you’re seeing this message by asking one of your mutual followers to look up the profile you’re trying to access.

Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t provide details on whether a particular account has been disabled.

The User Has Permanently Disabled Their Account

Many people decide they don’t want to use Instagram anymore and shut down their accounts permanently. When a user does this, their profile, content, and all likes and comments get deleted. This also means the account won’t appear in the search results or under Followers or Following lists. In such cases, you’ll get the “User not found” message.

The best way to check this is to ask one of your friends with an Instagram profile to look up the person whose profile you’re trying to find. If they can’t find it, chances are the person has disabled their account. Unfortunately, there’s no way to establish whether that’s permanent or temporary.

There’s another way to determine if a person has permanently disabled their account, but it doesn’t always work. When a person deletes their account, their username becomes available to everyone else. If you’ve managed to find the username, but the profile doesn’t belong to the person you’re looking for, they most likely deleted their account or changed the username.

The User Has Been Banned or Suspended From Instagram

One of the reasons for getting the “User not found” message is that the user you’re trying to find has been banned or suspended from Instagram. Namely, whenever a person violates Instagram’s terms of service, they can get automatically suspended for a certain period. These violations can include abusing another account, inappropriate behavior, but also buying likes and followers, using automation tools to like or comment aggressively, etc.

In most cases, these bans last for a limited time, but they can also be permanent, depending on the violation. If the profile you’re trying to find on Instagram has been suspended, you won’t see an indicator like on other social media such as Twitter. You can try to remember whether the person in question has violated Instagram guidelines in the past. Apart from that, there’s nothing you can do until the ban is lifted.

The User Has Blocked You

Another potential reason for the “User not found” message is that the user has blocked your account. Besides not being able to access their profile, you won’t see their comments and likes. Essentially, the experience is no different than when the account in question has been temporarily or permanently disabled.

If you suspect someone blocked you on Instagram, and that’s the reason you’re seeing the “User not found” message, you can ask a friend to look up the person for you. If they can find their profile, you’ve most likely been blocked.

Temporary Glitch

The “User not found” message can also appear because Instagram is experiencing a temporary glitch. Besides waiting it out, there are several actions you can take to try and resolve this issue:

• Exit the app – You can close Instagram, wait a few seconds, and then reopen it. Now, search for the person’s profile.
• Check your internet connection – If your internet isn’t working properly, you could be experiencing numerous issues on Instagram, including the “User not found” message. Double-check the connection. If your Wi-Fi is causing the problem, try using mobile data.
• Restart your phone – Turning your phone off and on could resolve the problem.
• Update the app – Another reason you see the message could be that you’re not using the latest version of the app. Try updating the app and then searching for the user’s profile.
• Reinstall the app – If the above solutions didn’t work, you could uninstall and reinstall the app. Keep in mind you’ll need to log in again with your username and password, so ensure you have them ready.
  
  

FAQ

What does the “try again later” message on Instagram mean?

Many Instagram users have encountered this message. It can show up if you’ve used third-party apps or automation tools to carry out certain Instagram actions. Moreover, this message can appear if you’ve liked, commented, or followed/unfollowed people “too aggressively.” Finally, the message can be a consequence of a temporary glitch.

This message is Instagram’s way of mitigating spam and automation and preventing the abuse of certain features. Unfortunately, some people get this message even if they didn’t do anything wrong. There are several ways to fix this problem:

• Wait it out.

• Log out, then log back in.

• Change your password.

Go Around “User Not Found”

Contrary to popular belief, getting the “User not found” message doesn’t automatically mean the person in question blocked you. Numerous reasons could be the cause of this message. Since Instagram doesn’t give you a clear reason why you got the message, you’ll have to do some research on your own. We hope this article helped you learn why the “User not found” message can appear on your Instagram.

Do you often receive this message on Instagram? Have you managed to discover why you received it? Tell us in the comments section below.