As you may know, Instagram (IG) doesn’t let you directly search for users by phone number or email, which can make finding someone’s profile a bit challenging. But don’t worry—just having their phone number can still get you far, and you don’t have to limit yourself to using the platform alone. Even if the number isn’t enough, there are plenty of other tricks to help you find the right profile with a little extra information. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most effective ways to track down someone’s Instagram (and potentially other social profiles as well).

1. Sync your contact list (a bit of luck needed)

Before using this feature, it’s important to be aware of a few things to make an informed choice:

How to sync contacts on Instagram

You can simply follow the steps shown in the picture below to let Instagram sync your contacts for you.

Alternatively, there’s another, slightly more complicated way to do it: Go to your Instagram profile, tap the three lines icon at the top right, select Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Upload contacts, and toggle on the Connect contacts option.

We’ve listed this method first because it’s simple and straightforward. However, in practice, it’s not as effective as you might think—especially when compared to similar features on other platforms like Snapchat or TikTok. Successfully finding an Instagram profile through this method isn’t always easy. Here’s why:

Despite its flaws and uncertainties, it’s still worth a try for its simplicity, especially if you have little information beyond a phone number.

Pro tips for finding the right person

As mentioned before, Instagram won’t tell you directly which suggested profile belongs to a specific contact. You’ll have to do a bit of detective work. If you have a long contact list, finding the right account can be a challenge. Here are a few tips you might find helpful:

If this trick doesn’t work, or if you prefer not to share your contact list, a people search tool could be the solution. 

2. Use a reliable people search engine (recommended)

People search engines are designed to make finding information about people quick and easy. By searching with a phone number, you could discover linked social media profiles across 50+ networks, along with details about the owner—such as contact details, location history, jobs, assets, and possible photos, if available.

I’ve seen users complain about trying out some sites that feel like scams. Well, there are plenty of people search sites out there, and not all of them are reliable or of high quality. However, if you find the right one, it may help you locate someone’s Instagram profile effectively and efficiently.

That’s why we personally tested a range of tools (especially those top-rated options) to identify the most reliable and effective ones. We found Intelius® to be the best for social media searches due to its relatively higher success rate in finding IG accounts, extensive network coverage, detailed background info, and great user experience. 

Once you’ve selected a tool, the next step is to conduct the search. For example, with Intelius, you can visit its phone lookup page, enter a phone number, and hit Search. Give it about a minute to find any relevant information.

Once the report is ready, you can register with your email address to access it. Choose a subscription plan that best suits your needs, and you’ll enjoy unlimited access. 

Click OPEN REPORT, then navigate to the Social section to view all profiles linked to the person. There, you can also find various social media details, such as profile links, usernames, and any key information extracted, when available. 

You can click “Background Report” in the left-hand navigation menu, then explore different sections to get a full picture of the person, including details on their education, jobs, assets, licenses, and more.

Who are the people possibly associated with this number?

In the report, you may see multiple people potentially linked to the same phone number. This can happen for a few reasons, such as a single phone number can be shared by multiple people, such as family members, also, phone numbers are often recycled, so previous owners might also show up. 

For example, in this report, there are 3 possible owners listed. If you take a look at their names and addresses, it’s quite reasonable to assume they belong to the same family and share the same phone number.

If you don’t want to pay and are willing to invest time, you can also conduct an in-depth manual search as described below. 

3. Search manually with some additional information

① Explore mutual friends’ profiles

You can check mutual friends’ profiles to find someone’s Instagram account. For example,  if you’re already following a former classmate on IG but struggling to locate another less familiar classmate, there’s a chance the person you’re looking for might be following or followed by the classmate you’ve already added. By browsing through their friends list, you might find the account you’re after—provided their profile isn’t set to private, and you’re willing to put in some time and patience.

Check out the posts, comments, and story highlights as well, you may find the profile tagged somewhere.

② Search by name & additional info

If you know the person’s full name, you can search for them directly using Instagram’s built-in search bar or on Google (simply use the search bar above).

You might be wondering: What if I don’t know or have forgotten the person’s full name? Don’t worry—we’ve put together a guide specifically for this situation. It covers clever tricks for finding the associated name from a phone number, including using caller ID lookup toolsand finding clues from messaging apps and cash apps.

Maybe you’ve got another issue: you know their full name, but it’s too common to pinpoint the exact person. In this case, combining the name with some additional info, like their city, workplace/job or university, becomes crucial. If you don’t have any useful additional details, you can try using TruePeopleSearch’s reverse phone lookup feature. By entering the phone number, you can typically view basic info like the current address for free. However, since it’s free, the information won’t be as extensive as paid people search engines, and it won’t show things like social profiles. But if all you need is a name or city, this tool usually works well enough.

③ Try to recall or search for potential usernames they might use

Fun fact: people are creatures of habit and tend to reuse their usernames across different social networks. With this in mind, you can try to find usernames they’ve used elsewhere and then search for them on Instagram.

Start by thinking about if you have their accounts on any other platforms—Discord, Reddit, Tinder, or anything similar. Then, try searching for those usernames on Instagram.Similarly, if you have their personal email address, search for the handle (the part before the @), as it might also be a username they used elsewhere.

If you don’t have any of their usernames right now, don’t lose hope just yet. Remember that phone number you have? They might have used it to sign up for other social media platforms. Therefore, you can try a more indirect approach—use the sync contacts feature on various platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp, or Facebook. Many of the most popular platforms offer this feature, and some can even directly show you which account is linked to a specific contact. If you’re lucky enough to find one of their accounts, you can then try searching that username on Instagram.

I think it’s worth mentioning Facebook specifically here, because if you can find their Facebook profile, there’s a chance you might also find their Instagram there. Since both platforms are part of Meta, the “Contact and basic info” section in Facebook’s About page sometimes includes a direct link to the person’s Instagram profile (if they choose to make it public of course).

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t find their username, consider using specialized social media search tools like BeenVerified or Intelius. Just enter their phone number or real name, and you’ll receive a report with a range of possible usernames associated with them.

④ Search by photo

Instagram is largely an image-driven platform where people readily share photos of themselves, so images can be a helpful clue when trying to find someone.

If you have a picture of them, especially a clear one of their face, it could make your search easier. If not, any photo they might have shared on social media could work. No pictures handy? try checking their other social media accounts (if you have them or found them using the methods mentioned earlier), since many people tend to post the same photos across different platforms.

Here’s what to do once you have a picture ready:

Start by doing a reverse image search using popular tools like Google Image or Yandex. All you need is to upload an image to the tools (The steps for using Google Images are shown below).

These tools will scan the web for sites where the image (or a similar one) appears, and if you’re lucky, it could lead you to their Instagram profile. It’s easy to use and can give you quick results.

If free tools like Google Images didn’t yield great results, you might want to consider paid options: 

• One-stop people search sites that let you upload an image and get a detailed report with a wealth of personal info.
• More powerful paid facial recognition engines like FaceCheck.ID or PimEyes.

The information available on tools discussed in this article may not be 100% accurate, complete, or up to date, so do not use it as a substitute for your own due diligence, especially if you have concerns about a person’s criminal history. These services don’t make any representation or warranty about the accuracy of the information available through their services or about the character or integrity of the person about whom you inquire. For more information, please review the service’s Terms of Use.

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