How to Create an Instagram Account: Step-by-Step Guide 2026

To create an Instagram account, install the app, tap Create new account, enter your email address or mobile number, then the confirmation code, a password, your birthday, your name and a username. On a computer, the whole thing fits on a single form at instagram.com. You need to be at least 13, and signing up is free. This guide follows the screens as they look in September 2026, step by step, then covers the settings that actually matter in your first few days. If your new profile needs to look credible fast, Instagram followers help you get past the empty-account stage.

What do you need before you sign up?

Four things, and almost everyone rushes the most important one: the contact detail you’ll use to recover the account.

• A smartphone or a computer. The app is on the App Store (iPhone) and the Google Play Store (Android). On a computer, a browser is enough.
• An email address or mobile number that only you use. Meta stresses this in its help pages: if you forget your password, that’s how you get back in. An inbox you share with someone is an account you share with someone.
• Your real birthday. Even if the account is for a business or your dog, Instagram asks for yours. It decides which protections apply to the account.
• A username idea. That’s the @ handle that becomes your profile address. Thirty characters max, using letters, numbers, periods and underscores. Have two or three backups ready, because nearly every short handle is taken.

The minimum age is 13, and the official help pages list no exceptions. The account is free, and you don’t need any paid plan to post or follow people.

How do you create an Instagram account on your phone?

This is the path described in Meta’s Help Center, with the English labels shown in September 2026. It’s the same on iPhone and Android.

1. Download the Instagram app and open it.
2. Tap Create new account.
3. Enter your email address or mobile number, then tap Next.
4. Type the confirmation code sent by email or text, then Next.
5. Create a password, then Next.
6. Enter your birthday, then Next.
7. Add your name, the one shown under your photo, then Next.
8. Pick your username, then Next.
9. Read the terms and tap I agree. That’s the moment the account is created.
10. Add a profile picture or tap Skip to do it later. A toggle offers to share it as your first post: leave it off if you want a clean profile, then tap Done.

At the end, Instagram may offer to save your login info. Say yes on your own phone, no on a borrowed one. Also, for a while other people can see that your account is new. Meta says so itself in the help article.

@simplealpaca

The full sign-up flow in the app, screen by screen, 2026 version.

♬ original sound – Simple Alpaca – Simple Alpaca

Can you create an Instagram account on a computer?

Yes, and it’s actually quicker, since everything sits on one page. Go to instagram.com and choose sign up, or open instagram.com/accounts/emailsignup/ directly. The page is headed “Get started on Instagram”.

1. Fill in Mobile number or email.
2. Choose a Password.
3. Enter your Birthday (month, day, year).
4. Type your Full name, then your Username.
5. Click Submit. That click counts as accepting the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Cookies Policy.
6. Enter the confirmation code you receive to activate the account.

One thing most tutorials skip: an account created on a computer works fully on your phone afterwards. Just log in to the app with the same details. A few settings stay app-only, though, like turning on two-factor authentication with an authentication app.

Do you have to go through Facebook?

No, it’s optional. If the app spots a Facebook account on your phone, it shows Continue as [your name]. You then have three choices:

• Yes, continue, then Next: the Instagram account is created from Facebook, both use the same login info, and you can sync your name, profile picture and avatar.
• Continue without Facebook: you keep two separate accounts.
• Create new account: you ignore Facebook and follow the standard steps.

Going through Facebook saves about a minute, and I’m not convinced that’s worth it: one password for two accounts means a hack on one exposes the other. For a business or a brand, keep the logins separate. If you do use Facebook, both accounts land in the same Accounts Center, where you can manage syncing later.

What changes if you’re under 18?

Between 13 and 17, Instagram automatically sets up a Teen Account with more protective settings. Here’s what Meta’s help pages say in September 2026:

• the account is private by default, so every new follower has to be approved;
• under 16, making the account public or loosening a setting needs a parent’s permission through parental supervision; at 16 or 17, teens can do it themselves unless supervision is active;
• messages only come from accounts they follow or are already connected with;
• sleep mode mutes notifications from 10 PM to 7 AM, and a reminder appears after 60 minutes of use in a day.

That’s why the real birthday matters. A fake date also breaks those protections, and Meta notes that someone over 18 stuck with a Teen Account can fix it in their birthday settings.

Which settings should you change right after signing up?

Five minutes here saves you most of the trouble of the first few weeks. Two-factor authentication first, honestly. The rest can wait until tonight.

1. Turn on two-factor authentication. On a computer: More at the bottom left, Settings, See more in Accounts Center, Password and security, Two-factor authentication. There are three methods: an authentication app (the one Meta recommends), text message, or WhatsApp once text is on. Write the backup codes down somewhere other than your phone.
2. Pick public or private. For adults, the account usually starts out public. For a personal account among friends, private mode lets you filter followers.
3. Finish your profile. A sharp photo and a bio that says what you post, 150 characters max. An empty profile makes people leave, it’s that simple.
4. Choose the account type. Instagram doesn’t let you create a professional account from scratch: you create a personal one, then convert it. The path: Profile, menu, Settings and activity, section For professionals, Account type and tools, Switch to professional account, then Creator or Business. Heads up: a private account becomes public when it goes professional.

@creationsinguliere

Personal, business or creator: which account type to pick once you’re signed up (in French).

♬ The Champion – Lux-Inspira

One last point: getting started. A new account has no history, and the algorithm barely shows it. Post three to six times before inviting your contacts, so they find a profile that looks alive. Instagram likes on those first posts also send a signal of interest to the visitors who land there.

What if sign-up gets stuck?

In the vast majority of cases, it’s one of these.

• The confirmation code never arrives. Check your spam folder, wait a minute, request a new code. If still nothing, start again with your phone number instead of email, or the other way round.
• The username is taken. Instagram doesn’t release handles from inactive accounts. Add a period, an underscore, a number or what you do.
• The email is already in use. You probably have an old account. Recover it with “Forgot password?” instead of making a new one.
• Sign-up is refused because of age. Under 13, there’s no workaround. That’s the rule.
• A message mentions unusual activity. Too many attempts in a short time from the same device trigger a temporary limit. Wait a few hours, switch to mobile data instead of public Wi-Fi, and skip the VPN while signing up.

Once the account exists, a second profile takes seconds to create from the first one, without going through the full sign-up again.