Instagram handle glossary

Fifteen terms used on Atclaim

Handle

The unique part of an Instagram profile that follows the @ sign. Also called the username.

Username

Another word for handle. It is unique and can use letters, numbers, periods and underscores, up to 30 characters.

Display name

The name shown on a profile. It is separate from the username and does not have to be unique.

Username claim

A request, made through an official Instagram process, for a taken handle to be made available to your account.

Route

One of the official processes a claim can use: impersonation, intellectual property, Community Standards or previous username.

Previous username

A handle you used before on the same account. Instagram says you can usually change back if nobody new has taken it.

Impersonation

A profile that pretends to be another person or business. It is a reportable breach of Instagram’s rules.

Intellectual property report

An Instagram form for rights owners, such as holders of a registered trademark, to report infringing content or profiles.

Community Standards

Instagram’s published rules for what is allowed. A report can only rely on a rule that the profile actually breaks.

Inactive handle

A handle on a profile that is not posting or being used. Inactivity alone is not a route for a claim.

Dormant handle

A handle on a profile that has gone quiet for a long time. Like inactive, it describes a state, not a right.

Account recovery

Returning an account you own after you lost access. It is not a handle claim.

Handle swap

A private trade of handles between accounts. It is outside Instagram’s rules and Atclaim does not do it.

Failed claim

A claim where Instagram declines or does not make the handle available. Atclaim refunds 100% of a failed username claim.

Accounts Center

The Meta settings area Instagram links to for managing profile details, including usernames.