Even though Instagram is a wonderful platform for connecting and sharing content with people you know, sometimes you simply want your account to remain anonymous. However, if your phone number is connected to Instagram, people who already have your contact details on their device can still find you on this app, without knowing your username, even if your account is set to private.
In order to combat this issue, the best option is to completely remove your phone number from Instagram. Here’s how you can do exactly that:
Table of Contents
Removing a phone number from Instagram
On the mobile app
- Open the Instagram app on your device, and log into your account, if you’re not already logged in.
- Go to your profile page by tapping the last icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Here, tap on the Edit Profile button.
- Under the Profile Information section, tap on the Phone Number.
- Now, simply delete your phone number, and then press Next.
- Finally, press the blue Done button in the upper-right corner, and the changes will be saved.
Note: Instagram might also send you an email, confirming that your phone number has been deleted from its database.
On desktop
- On your computer, open a browser and go to instagram.com
- Log into your account.
- On the homepage, click on the Profile icon in the upper-right corner of the screen, and then go to your Profile.
- Here, click the Edit Profile button.
- Scroll down until you find the Phone Number section.
- Here, simply delete the phone number that’s currently on your profile.
- Finally, click the Submit button, and the changes will be saved.
Disconnecting contacts from Instagram
If your device’s contacts are synced to Instagram, you can also remove them by following the steps below:
- Open the Instagram app on your device, and log into your account, if you’re not already logged in.
- Go to your profile page by tapping the last icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Here, tap on the hamburger icon in the upper-right corner of the screen to open the menu.
- Next, tap on Discover People.
- Finally, toggle the Connect Contacts button from on to off, and the changes will be saved.
Note: If you unsync your contacts from Instagram, all the information that was previously connected will also be removed.
While Instagram has a number of different options that can often be quite handy, sometimes you simply need to keep your privacy by removing your personal phone number from the app. Thankfully, this simple guide will help you to achieve just that.