How To Find Someone on Instagram With Phone Number: A Guide
Instagram 101 | Aug 23, 2024
Social media is an amazing avenue for staying in touch with people you can’t really see all too often. That’s why Instagram allows you to find social profiles on the platform with just a phone number. In this guide, we’ll show you how to find someone on Instagram with phone number only.
When you and old pals and relatives drift apart, they might end up as mere contacts on your phone. But that just might be the thing that helps you reconnect and rekindle your relationship. If you want to know how to find social media profiles this way, then keep reading.
Can You Find Someone’s Instagram With Their Phone Number?
People usually use the Search feature to find someone’s IG profile, but can you find someone’s Instagram with their phone number? The good news is, yes, you can. The platform doesn’t let you search by phone number, but you can still find friends on IG by using something called contacts syncing.
When you upload contacts to Instagram, you give it access to your friends’ phone numbers and email addresses. The app then scans through your contact list from time to time to find the accounts linked with this contact info. It’s a quick, easy way to find old friends and family members on Instagram without asking for their usernames! It’s also great for finding professional contacts, clients, and colleagues online.
This goes both ways. If a friend has your number and syncs their contacts on Instagram, you’ll also show up in their follow suggestions.
How To Find Someone on Instagram With Phone Number: Sync Contacts, Step by Step
According to the Pew Research Center, half of Americans use social media to reconnect with old friends. So, if you want to do the same by using someone’s number, you can upload your contacts on Instagram easily. In a few simple steps, you can sync your phone contacts with the app and find your old friends’ profiles. Here’s how to find someone on Instagram with their phone number through contact syncing:
1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Click your profile picture on the bottom-right corner of the home page to go to your profile.
3. Tap on the hamburger menu icon (the one with three horizontal lines) at the top-right of your screen.
4. Click Accounts Center. This will take you to the universal Meta Accounts Center.
5. Scroll to the “Account settings” section and select Your information and permissions.
6. Select Upload contacts.
7. Choose which of your existing IG accounts you’d like to sync your contacts with.
8. Tap the toggle labeled Connect contacts.
Et voilà! Your contacts are now successfully linked to your account, and Instagram can accurately suggest old friends for you to follow. If you want to stop giving IG access to your contacts, come back to that page to disconnect the sync.
How To See Contacts on IG if You’ve Already Synced Your Phonebook
Have you already uploaded your contacts to Instagram? If so, you will be able to see people you know in real life on Instagram’s account suggestions. Here’s how to see contacts on IG when you need recommendations on old friends to follow:
1. Open Instagram.
2. Go to the notifications tab by clicking the heart icon at the top of the home page.
3. Scroll to the very bottom of the notifications page until you see the “Suggested for you” section.
4. Head to the bottom of the suggestions and click See all suggestions. You will find contacts who are on Instagram in this list.
Granted, some people Instagram suggests you follow will be based on mutual friends and common interests. However, a good chunk of these users will be those linked to the phone numbers in your contacts.
Your Friend Doesn’t Have an IG Account Yet? Invite Them via SMS
Can’t find an Instagram by phone number? That’s probably because that contact isn’t on Instagram yet. Here’s how you can invite your contacts to join Instagram and follow you through SMS:
1. Open the Instagram app and head to your profile.
2. Click the hamburger menu icon to see your personal settings.
3. Tap Follow and invite friends under the “How others can interact with you” section.
4. Select Invite friends by SMS.
5. An auto-filled text with an invitation message and a link to your page will automatically open in your messaging app. Choose the contact or type the phone number of the friend you want to invite to Instagram.
6. Click the send button and wait for them to install and sign up on Instagram!
Other Tips for IG User Search
Contacts syncing isn’t the only way to find old friends’ profiles on Instagram. So, if you don’t have that old college friend’s or former office flame’s contact info, don’t worry—you’re not doomed. If you want to conduct an Instagram account search, there are plenty of alternative methods for you.
Here are other tips to successfully do an IG user search to find and reconnect with people you used to know.
1. Look Up Their IG Username
The easiest way to find someone on Instagram is by typing their handle into the search bar. Everyone’s username is unique, so you’ll be able to pull up the account you’re looking for instantly. Here’s how to do a quick Instagram ID search, step by step:
1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Click the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the page to open the Explore tab.
3. Tap the search bar at the top of the Explore page.
4. Type the username of the account you want to find.
5. Click the user once they appear in the search results to visit their page.
Make sure there aren’t any typos in your search query. Otherwise, you might not see the account you’re looking for. If you’re not 100% sure of the person’s handle, try different spelling and syntax variations until you find it.
2. Search for Specific Buzzwords in Their Niche
Many brands and influencers include buzzwords related to their niche in their bio. This boosts Instagram SEO, ensuring that people searching these words might stumble upon their pages.
So, if you’re looking for people specializing in a specific niche, look up buzzwords and relevant phrases on search. For example, if you’re looking for a food influencer specializing in healthy food, search terms like “nutrition” or “vegan.” The results will show you popular accounts with these keywords in their bio.
3. Explore Accounts That Use Certain Hashtags in Their Bio
Aside from buzzwords, some accounts also use hashtags in their bio related to their niche. You can also look up these hashtags on search. Then, instead of exploring the “Tags” tab, look through “Accounts” instead. The results will show you a plethora of Instagram pages associated with the hashtag you put in.
Experiment with niche hashtags when looking for specific accounts. For example, if you’re looking for a certain travel influencer, you can always search tags like #wanderlust or #travelbug. But it might not always work, given that these tags are extremely popular.
So, be a little more specific with ultra-niche tags related to that influencer’s unique content pillars, like #solofemaletraveler or #japantravel. This gives you a better shot at finding the exact person you’re looking for.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find someone on Instagram by phone contacts?
To find someone on Instagram with their phone number, you must upload and sync your phone contacts with the app. You can do this through the Meta Accounts Center. Once you sync your contacts, you will be able to see the public and private profiles of people you know.
How do I find someone on Instagram without knowing their username?
Even if you don’t know someone’s username, you can always use the search bar to look up their real name. People will often use their real name as their display name, which is different from a username. Instagram will still show display name matches when you look them up.
How do I find a social media account by phone number?
The process depends on the social media platform you’re using. On Instagram, the easiest way to do it is through contact syncing. However, on other platforms, like WhatsApp or Facebook, you can directly search by phone number to see people’s social profiles.
Can you see a phone number on Instagram?
No, Instagram doesn’t show other people your phone number or any other private contact info to the public. That means even your email address is kept private. Users can only see someone’s number if that person has a business account with a contact button on their page.
Add More Friends From Your Contacts To Grow Your IG Page!
Even if all you have of an old friend is their number, it’s totally possible to find them on Instagram. Follow the steps above to sync your contacts with the platform and find old pals just like that.
Now that you know how to find someone on Instagram with a phone number, you’ll have more friends in your community. But don’t stop there. You can get even more followers when you use organic promotional methods with a growth service—like Path Social.
Our team uses AI-driven targeting tools to ensure your content reaches the right people. You tell us who your target audience is, and we promote your brand to them. This boosts not just visibility and engagement for your posts but also your follower count. So use Path Social today and grow your Instagram!
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