Remove a fake Instagram account or post about you

What we remove on Instagram

• Poser accounts using your name, photos and bio to pass as you
• Dummy accounts built from your pictures under another name, often for scams or catfishing
• Fan or “exposed” accounts that repost your photos or stories without consent
• Leaked or intimate photos posted in posts, reels, stories or highlights
• Posts with your personal data: phone number, address, school, ID
• Fake accounts of your brand or shop that copy your posts to take payments

Impersonation form (with ID)

Instagram removes accounts that pretend to be a real person, but it only acts on reports from the person being impersonated or their representative, such as a parent. Anyone can tap Report on a profile and choose the option for an account pretending to be someone. When you do not have an Instagram account, or the in-app report was rejected, Instagram has a dedicated impersonation form in its Help Center.

That form asks for a photo of your government-issued ID, such as a passport, driver’s license or UMID. You upload it yourself through Instagram’s form: we never need a copy. We prepare the account links, screenshots and explanation so the report is complete the first time.

Dummy accounts

A dummy account uses your photos under a different name. Because it does not claim to be you, the impersonation route may not apply. We then report it for the photos themselves: your images used without permission, a privacy report when the photos are personal, or an intellectual property report when you took the photos. If the account scams people, we add that, with the messages as evidence.

Leaked photos and the Meta NCII process

Instagram follows the same rules as Facebook on non-consensual intimate imagery: intimate photos or videos shared without consent are removed, including threats to share them. Meta also takes part in StopNCII.org, which creates a digital fingerprint of an image on your own device so participating platforms can block uploads without anyone seeing it. Never send us the images: links are enough. If a minor is involved, report to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, the NBI or the CICC hotline 1326 first. See how we remove intimate images.

When the report is refused

1. Re-file through the Help Center form instead of the in-app button, with complete proof.
2. Change the ground: privacy or intellectual property when impersonation does not fit.
3. Report linked accounts: the same person often runs a Facebook profile or a TikTok copy too.
4. Clean up Google, where Instagram profiles and posts are indexed under your name.

Instagram, Facebook and TikTok together

Posers rarely stop at one app. The same photos often appear on a Facebook profile and a TikTok account the same week. We report all of them in one case: see how we remove a fake TikTok account, remove Facebook posts about you, and our general page to remove fake accounts on other apps.

Honest limits

• Private accounts we cannot see need screenshots from a follower.
• Close Friends stories and DMs disappear or stay private; we report what can be seen and saved.
• We cannot reveal who runs the account. Only Meta can, at the request of a court or the police.