Find People on Instagram

In the last few years, Instagram has quickly become the go-to-social network for casual young users, beating out even well-known social sites like Facebook and Twitter in young demographics.[1] However, newcomers (especially those used to Facebook) may find its stripped-down interface a little tricky to use at first. Never fear — with the right directions, it's easy to find and "follow" new and old friends on Instagram in a variety of ways. Best of all, each way only requires a few simple steps.

Steps

Using the Search Bar

  1. Locate the search bar at the top of the Explore tab. The most direct way to find someone on Instagram is to use the built-in search function, which works just like a search engine for Instagram. Launch Instagram and bring up the Explore tab by clicking the icon at the bottom of the screen that looks like a compass (it should be second from the left.)
    • Here, you should see a search bar with a small magnifying glass icon at the top of the screen. Tap this to open the search bar and get started.
  2. Alternatively, use the search bar on your Profile tab. Another way to access Instagram's search function is via the Profile tab. Click the icon in the bottom right corner of the screen that looks like either the outline of a person or an ID card (depending on which version of Instagram you have) to get to the Profile tab. Here, you'll see a search bar at the top of the screen that works exactly like the one on the Explore tab.
  3. Type the username or full name of the user you would like to find. When you've found the search bar on either the Explore tab or the Profile tab, click it and type in your search query. If you're looking for a specific person, this should be his or her username or real name.
    • If, on the other hand, you're looking for someone you don't already know, you can just type in a keyword of your choice and Instagram will attempt to find users with that word in their name or user information.
    • Finally, you can also select the "Tags" option at the top of the screen and type in a search query to find posts that have been hashtagged with the same terms. For example, a "Tags" search for "hip hop" will find thousands of posts that have been labeled with the tag "#hiphop" or something similar. This is a good way to find users with similar interests as you.
  4. Click the appropriate profile, then click “Follow". Once you enter your search terms, you should get a list of users (or posts) that match your terms. Find the person you're looking for in this list, then click on this person's name to view his or her profile. At the top of the profile, you should see a "+ Follow" button if you're not already following the user — click this button to add the user to the circle of people you follow.
    • Note that users with privacy controls on their profile may require manual approval of each "follow" request. In this case, you'll have to wait until the user approves you before receiving posts and updates from the user on your feed.

Syncing Your Facebook Contacts

For iOS

  1. Open the Profile tab. If you already have a Facebook account, finding your Facebook friends on Instagram is easy, but the process varies slightly depending on which type of device you have. For Apple products, start by opening Instagram and going to your profile by clicking the button at the bottom right of the screen.[2]
  2. Click on the Settings button. Once you're at your profile page, access your Settings menu by clicking the button in the top right of the screen. The icon should be a small picture of a silver gear.
  3. Click on “Find & Invite Friends” at the very top. Select the option at the top of the Settings menu to proceed. The wording for this option may change based on the version of Instagram you have, but it should always be the topmost option.
  4. Click on “Facebook Friends”. You will be redirected to your Facebook app and asked to verify your choice to connect Instagram to Facebook. After giving your permission, you will automatically be redirected back to Instagram.
  5. "Follow" the desired names in the list. You should now see a list of Instagram users who are also friends with you on Facebook. Scroll through this list and click “Follow” next to the names that you would like to keep updated on. These people’s pictures will now show up on your home feed.
    • Note, however, that users with restrictive privacy settings may need to manually approve your follow request.

For Android

  1. Open the Settings menu from your Profile tab. Launch Instagram and click the button in the bottom right corner of the screen (which should look like the outline of a person) to open the Profile tab. Click on the button in the top right of the screen to open your Settings menu. The button should look like three small, square dots stacked on top of each other (like a traffic light.)[2]
  2. Click "Find Friends," then "Connected to Facebook". On the Settings menu, click the option at the top of the screen, which should read "Find Friends" (the precise wording may change based on which version of Instagram you have.) On the next page, click "Connected to Facebook."
  3. If necessary, give permission to access your Facebook account. If you haven't already connected your Instagram profile to your Facebook account, you will be asked to give permission to access your account. Give Instagram this permission to continue. You should not need to do this again in the future unless you change your Instagram or Facebook profile settings.
  4. Click "Follow" next to the profiles you'd like to follow. You should now see a list populated with Instagram users that you are also Facebook friends with. Simply scroll down the list and click "Follow" next to each user that you'd like to follow. As noted above, some users may need to manually approve your follow requests.
    • You may also click the "Follow All" button at the top of the screen to automatically send a follow request to every user in the list.

For Windows Phone

  1. Visit your Profile tab and click the button with three dots. While the methods for finding Facebook friends on Android and iOS are virtually identical, the process is slightly different for Windows phones. To start, go to your profile tab and click the button in the bottom right corner of the screen. The icon for this button should be three dots in a horizontal line, like this: . . .
  2. Tap "Settings," then "Find & Invite Friends". Click the "Settings" option from the life options on the screen. On the next page, click "Find & Invite Friends." Finally, click "Follow your Friends."
  3. Select the option for Facebook. On the next page, you should see options to find friends from both your Facebook friend list and your phone's contact list. Click the option for Facebook to proceed.
  4. Click "Follow" next to the profiles you'd like to follow. You should now see a list with Instagram users that also appear in your Facebook friends list. Click "Follow" next to each user that you'd like to follow on Instagram. This step is virtually the same as in the methods above.

Syncing Your Contact List

  1. Navigate to the “Find Friends” page. You don't necessarily need to be Facebook friends with people to find them on Instagram — Instagram can also detect which people in your phone's contact list have Instagram accounts and suggest these users to you. To begin, you want to go to the screen in your Settings menu that lets you choose between whether to add friends from your Facebook account or your contact list. This is described in detail in the method above, but here again are quick instructions for each major smartphone OS:[2]
    • For iOS: Starting on your Profile tab, click the button in the top right that looks like a silver gear. Tap "Find & Invite Friends" on the next page.
    • For Android: Starting on your Profile tab, click the button in the top right that looks like three vertical dots. Tap "Find Friends" on the next page.
    • For Windows Phone: Starting on your Profile tab, click the button in the bottom right that looks like three horizontal dots. Tap "Settings," then "Find & Invite Friends."
  2. Click on “My Contacts” or the appropriate option. On this page, you should see an option for adding friends from Facebook as well for adding friends from your phone's contact list. Click the "Contacts" option. The precise wording for this option may differ based on which version of Instagram you have, but the distinction between the "Facebook" option and this one should be clear.
  3. Give Instagram permission to access your contacts. If haven't already granted permission for Instagram to access your contacts, Instagram will now request it. Click “Allow”.
    • Note that, according to Instagram, this information isn't given to third parties.[2]
  4. Click “Follow” next to the names that you would like to follow. You should now see a list of Instagram users that appear in your contacts list. Scroll through this list and click "Follow" next to each user that you'd like to receive updates from on Instagram.
    • Alternatively, click "Follow All" at the top of the list to automatically send a follow request to every user.

Using the "Suggested Users" Feature

  1. Visit the “Find Friends" page. In addition to searching for friends manually, you can also make use of a list that Instagram automatically populates with users it believes you may know based on your activity on social networks that you've linked to your Instagram account. To access this list, start by navigating to the same page you used in the methods above to search for friends on Facebook and in your contacts list. See below:
    • For iOS: Starting on your Profile tab, click the button in the top right that looks like a silver gear. Tap "Find & Invite Friends" on the next page.
    • For Android: Starting on your Profile tab, click the button in the top right that looks like three vertical dots. Tap "Find Friends" on the next page.
    • For Windows Phone: Starting on your Profile tab, click the button in the bottom right that looks like three horizontal dots. Tap "Settings," then "Find & Invite Friends."
  2. Scroll down to view suggested users. On this page, below the options for getting friends from Facebook or your contacts list, you should see a list of Instagram users that you (hopefully) recognize from your connections on other social networks. Scroll down to view the entries in the list — below each user's name, you should see a short description of how you know this person (i.e., "Facebook Friend," "Twitter Follower," etc.)
    • Note that, depending on which version of Instagram you have, you may need to click a button that says "Suggested Users" or "Instagram Suggested" to get to this list.
  3. Click "Follow" next to the names you'd like to follow. Just like in the methods above, you may scroll through the list and add users to the circle of people you're following on Instagram by clicking the "Follow" button next to each name. Users with restrictive privacy settings may need to manually approve your follow request for you to start receiving updates from them.

Finding People Using a Web Browser

  1. Log in at Instagram.com. While it's possible to access your Instagram account from any web browser, the online version of Instagram is actually surprisingly limited in its features. In fact, the only way to "find" people with the browser version of Instagram is to use workarounds that you wouldn't need to bother with on the mobile version. To get started, enter your Instagram login information at Instagram.com.[3]
  2. Scroll through your feed looking for new names. One of the first things you'll notice about the browser version of Instagram is that there is no convenient search bar at the top of the page for finding new users. You have access to your personal feed, but not much else. You can, however, follow new users by finding comments or likes by them that appear in your feed, clicking on their username to view their profile, and finally clicking the "Follow" button under their profile picture.
    • For example, if you're scrolling through your feed and you see a post by a friend that has a comment from someone you aren't currently following, you can click this person's name to view his or her profile, then, if you'd like, you can follow them by clicking "Follow" on their profile page.
  3. Navigate directly to Instagram.com/[username]. If you know another Instagram user's username, you can also visit their profile page directly by typing its address into the navigation bar at the top of your browser. The format for Instagram profiles is "instagram.com/[username]" — simply replace [username] with the person's actual username. Remember not to include any spaces.
    • For instance, to get to the profile page of the Instagram user "MikeyP98054," you'd type "instagram.com/mikeyp98054" into your address bar.
  4. Use a third-party site. Because the browser version of Instagram is so skimpy in terms of features, a few third-party sites have sprung up to make it easier to find other Instagram users online. Usually, these sites allow you to type the user's name into a simple search bar like you would on the mobile version. The site then displays a list of relevant users — once you find the person you're looking for, you can then either follow this person using the third-party site's interface, navigate to his or her page directly with the directions in the step above, or find them on your mobile device.
    • One good third-party site to start with is Websta.me (formerly Webstagram.) This site allows you to easily search Instagram users with a simple, no-frills search bar. Best of all, you can follow and unfollow users in the app if you supply your Instagram login details.[4]

Tips

  • Note that the precise instructions you need to follow to find people on Instagram may be different if you have an older version of the app.
  • These instructions are also subject to change as new versions of Instagram are released.

Warnings

  • While it's somewhat difficult to fall victim to identity thieves on Instagram because of its minimalist interface, as with all other social networks, it's important to remember never to give your Instagram login details to someone you don't know.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/instagram-the-new-facebook-for-teens/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://help.instagram.com/533052966709644/
  3. ↑ https://instagram.com/
  4. ↑ http://websta.me/search
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