10 methods to find someone on Instagram

Content Marketer and Writer
Updated 05 February, 2024
Julia Moore
Content Marketer and Writer
Instagram is an up-to-date platform with more than 1 billion users around the world. Each Instagram user has a unique profile name, which is called username. Other people can find someone by it. Often happens new Instagram users don't know how to find someone. So, this article can answer on this question. We have prepared 10 ways that can help you in searching a particular Instagram account. We also give a tip here on how to find your target audience and turn them into your followers.
Reading time — 8 minutes

Methods to find a person on Instagram

Add to the obvious search method by username, there are other ones like search by email, hashtags, phone number or personal data. Read more about each option below. And if you want to find your target audience on Instagram and turn them into your followers, then you can go right to the final part of the article.

1. Search by username

The easiest way to find someone is to use his or her username. You can do it both from the app and Instagram website version.

  1. Open Instagram and log in to your account.
  2. Tap Magnifying Glass Icon.
  3. Type someone's username in the Search Bar. 
  4. Wait for the result of your request.

After that, you'll see all the profiles that correspond to the specified username. We recommend going to the Accounts to filter out unnecessary requests. The principle of actions is the same in the website version, but you don't need to go to the special section like a magnifying glass icon. A search bar is located at the top of the website.

There are no filters to search by age, location, gender, etc. Therefore, it's better for you to know the exact username.

2. Search by first and last name

This method can remind you the first one, but it's a bit different. Use it to find people on Instagram without knowing their username if you perfectly remember his or her first and last name. You have to act in the same manner.

  1. Open the Instagram app.
  2. Type the name and surname of the person who you want to find on Instagram in the Search Bar.
  3. Look at the results and try to find the right person.

But there is the catch. Some people don't add their names in the Bio. If the user, who you want to find, relates to this category, so, go to the next method.

3. Search by places

In addition to searching for people by their username or name, you can give a try to find a certain Instagram profile by location. It's not easy as you may think! You have to manually check each publication and try to see a face of your relative, girlfriend or colleague on it. If there are no other options, this method can be used whatsoever. We prepared a little instruction, use it to prevent mistakes.

  1. Open Instagram app.
  2. Tap Magnifying Glass Icon and go to the Places.
  3. Type in the Search Bar the name of the city or town where a person whom you're looking for lives. 
  4. Choose the appropriate location and go to the page with photos.

You can filter posts by popularity or the date of publication. If the person is a fairly well-known, so search by popularity. If this is an ordinary user, search by the date of publication.

No doubt, this method to find people isn't perfect, as most Instagram users merely don't tag the location where the photo was taken. You can spend a dozen of hours trying to find, add it won't bring any benefit as a result. That's more, this feature is available only in the Instagram app.

4. Search by hashtags

Quite often, active Instagram users add hashtags to their posts to increase coverage. They typically capture the vibe, place, etc reflected in the post picture. So, if you want to find someone on Instagram who you met at a particular place or event, you can try the hashtags for your search.

Let's say you met the person at a wedding. Spouses usually create a wedding website and add their special hashtag. If the spouses did it in your case, search Instagram photos tagged with this special wedding hashtag.

Whatever hashtag you want to use to find someone on Instagram, follow the instructions:

  1. Open Instagram (app or website).
  2. Go to the Search.
  3. Find Hashtags and type this one, which can lead you to the exact page.

Well, now you have to check all the found posts. Probably you will notice the right person on the one of them. But there is a significant drawback. It's not a guarantee that someone who you're looking for used hashtags. In this way, hashtag method isn't for you.

5. Search by following

This is the easiest and at the same time the most interesting method. All that you have to do is to find an Instagram account of a relative or friend of the person you want to find. Perhaps the right account is in their following. We guess that you know how to do it but, anyway, we'll give an instruction.

  1. Go to the page who may follow the person you are looking for.
  2. Tap Followers or Following.
  3. View the list of usernames and keep scrolling till you find the right one. You can rely on profile photos and usernames.

Moreover, to save your time, you can DM to a potential acquaintance. Ask if he/she know the username of the person you need.

Remember! If the profile where you want to find someone is private, this method won't work. This is probably the only drawback.

6. Search by phone number

As all of us know, we need to provide contacts to sign up on the platform. So, you can can find someone on Instagram by phone number or email. Many users opt to the first option as it's more convenient. It's a way for you to search for your friends.

First of all, activate synchronization with contacts in Account's settings.

  1. Open your Instagram page.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Choose Account. 
  4. Tap Contacts syncing.
  5. Next to the Connect contacts item, move the slider to the right. 
  6. Confirm the changes and give access to the contacts.

Now let's add the phone number to your contacts.

  1. Open your Instagram page again and tap triple bar.
  2. Choose Discover people.
  3. If there are Contacts, then go to it. 
  4. And if not, then try to find the cherished user among the general list with recommendations.

There are cases when you did everything according to the instructions, but the right person isn't displayed on the list. What should you do then? Nothing. You won't find them on Instagram by phone number in this case. They used another number or signed up with email.

7. Search by photo

Have you got a photo of someone, but you don't know this is the person exactly? That's not a problem! In our digital world, there are services that help to find people on Instagram by images. Are you interested? Let's try it in Google Pictures.

  • Go to the official website.
  • Click on the camera icon near the search bar. It's noticeable, that it is much more convenient to perform all actions from a PC than from a smartphone. Upload a photo from a PC or simply specify a link to it.
  • Wait for the system to process the request.
  • After that, you'll see similar pictures and website addresses where these photos were posted. Attentively look at each web page, and probably you'll see the person who you're looking up.
Please note! You won't find an Instagram page of this person, but you can recognize his/her name or even username from other websites. Read our article to get a detailed information about different ways to find someone's Instagram profile by a picture.

Another service that can help you is TinEye. Unlike the previous sites, you can even upload very poor quality images here. Go to the platform page and insert a link to the photo in a special field. If the image is on your computer, then use the arrow icon to download it.

8. Search by synchronization Facebook friends

Facebook and Instagram have the same owner, but not everyone knows about this. Therefore, you can sync Facebook friends with your Instagram account without a hitch.

  1. Open Instagram and tap triple bar.
  2. Find Interesting People.
  3. Find Connect to Facebook and tap Connect.
  4. Sign in your Facebook account.
  5. After that, Facebook friends will be displayed in the corresponding section on Instagram.

Now try to find the right person in the list.

9. Use search systems

The last but not the least method to find people on Instagram is to use search engines. Yes, it's time to turn to Google, for instance. Type in the search bar person's username, first and last name. Scroll through the list and try to find the exact Instagram page.

10. Find them on other social networks

There is a fighting chance to find a link to the person’s Instagram page on other social networks. If you know how to get to their pages — great. Otherwise, you can use the same methods we described above to find someone on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or another platform.

When you succeed to get to their social page, find a lead to the Instagram profile there.

Look for reposts from Instagram. You may be lucky enough to find a repost with a direct link to the original. Then you just need to follow it. With less luck, you can find a screenshot with their Insta username in it. Then you need to type it in the search bar on IG.

Check their bio. Of course, it’s unlikely someone will give the whole list of links to their profiles there. At least, it’s not possible. But there are link in bio pages which are becoming increasingly popular, and your target almost certainly has one. On such pages, you can find everything about the person. And links to other socials are an essential part of such pages. You will find the one that leads to the Instagram profile. 

You can create a link in bio page for your socials too, it takes just a few minutes if you use templates. Follow the links and sign up to get these page templates:

How to find new followers on Instagram

You may also wonder how to find new followers on Instagram. Then, you need to find accounts of people with the same interests and interact with them. Look for the accounts using hashtags. Then, subscribe to these accounts, like and comment their posts. Some of these accounts' owners will do the same in return. 

Use tools to automate these routine actions. Most of the actions can be done by Folme.app. It finds people who may be interested in your account and interact with them. And it is safe since it considers Instagram limits, so there is no fear your account will be banned. 

Here you can watch a video of how a user finds new followers on Instagram using this app.

Let's recap

Well, we've got in deep how to find someone on Instagram. Don't worry if it's not so easier to find the right person. Remember: where there's a will, there's a way. Try each of these methods. Maybe one of them will be suitable for you!