The Instagram route from United Kingdom
A UK registered mark is the clearest evidence for Instagram’s intellectual property form. A European Union trade mark filed after the end of the Brexit transition does not cover the UK, while older EU marks were given UK equivalents, so check which register your mark sits on. A Companies House company name is not trade mark protection, and the common-law right of passing off needs a reputation built on use.
The four official routes are set out in the routes guide and compared on the routes comparison.
Then TikTok and Snapchat
Online abuse and impersonation can also touch the Online Safety Act 2023, which Ofcom oversees, but that law is about harm to people and users, not about who gets a handle. For TikTok and Snapchat the trademark and infringement forms are the routes that fit a brand, and both platforms decide each request themselves.
Handle limits for both are on the TikTok rules and Snapchat rules pages.
Proof to gather before you write
For a request from the United Kingdom the useful evidence is a UK trade mark on the UKIPO register, a Companies House record that matches the name, or proof that a profile is posing as you. The preparation checklist lists the rest: the exact handle, the profile it is for, and what ties the name to you.
Never send a password or a login code. Nobody who needs one is working through an official route. See claim scams.
Four steps from first message to filing
- You send the handle you want and the profile it is for, on WhatsApp or email, and say you are in the United Kingdom.
- We look at whether an official route fits the facts and tell you if it looks workable.
- The price is agreed in chat before any work starts.
- The request is filed with each platform’s process. The platform makes the final decision, and a claim that fails is covered by the refund policy.
Offices and laws named on this page
- Trade marks: the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).
- Personal data: UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, with the Information Commissioner’s Office as the regulator.
- Consumer and advertising matters: the Competition and Markets Authority.
- Languages: English.
- Currency for the price: pound sterling (GBP). The price is agreed in your chat or email before work starts.
These are reference points, not legal advice. A platform’s decision on a handle follows its own policy.