How to Switch to a Personal Account on Instagram (and Remove a Professional Account)

To switch to a personal account on Instagram, open your profile, tap the menu, then go to Account type and tools, Account type, Switch account type and Switch to personal account, and confirm. That removes the professional account features (ads, the contact button, Meta Business Suite access) without deleting the account, its posts or its followers, and you can switch back whenever you like.

Checked October 2026 against Instagram's Help Center articles on switching back to a personal account, setting up a professional account, professional accounts, ways to advertise, reel insights, making an account private and the licensed music library. The steps are Instagram's own, read for both the iPhone and Android versions of the article; menu labels shift a little between app versions, so look for the nearest match.

People switch back for three reasons: they want a private account again, they do not use the business tools, or a song they want is missing from the music picker. Each is covered below. For other account problems (restricted, locked, disabled), start at our Instagram account help hub.

How to switch to a personal account on Instagram

Instagram lists the same six steps for iPhone and Android. On an iPad, the only difference is that the profile picture sits on the left.

If a step does not match what you see:

• No Account type and tools entry. Update the Instagram app, then look under For professionals in Settings and activity, which is where the setup article places it.
• Several accounts on one phone. The switch applies to the account that is open, so move to the right account in the app before you start.
• No Switch to personal account option. Check that the account is a Creator or Business account at all: a personal account shows the option to switch to professional instead.

How to remove a professional account from Instagram: what changes

Switching back removes the professional layer and keeps the account. Instagram's article on switching back names two effects: you lose access to some Meta business tools such as Meta Business Suite and Meta Ads Manager, and, if your account is public, you keep access to your dashboard and insights.

The "goes" column comes from Instagram's list of what a professional account adds: a Contact button near the top of the profile, a category label below the profile image, an inbox split into Primary, General and Requests, and ranked message requests. Ads are a professional feature too: Instagram's advertising page says that to advertise on Instagram, you need a professional (business or creator) account.

Insights are the change most guides get wrong: many still say switching back erases them. Instagram's current article says a public account keeps them, and Instagram's reel insights page says you need a public account, personal or professional, to view them. The catch is privacy: make the account private and you leave that condition behind.

Creator vs business vs personal account

You may not need to go all the way to personal. If what bothers you is the business label or the contact button, switching from Business to Creator, or the other way, takes the same menu and keeps the ads and tools.

Sources: Instagram Help Center articles on professional accounts, setting up a professional account, switching back, ways to advertise, reel insights, privacy and the licensed music library, checked October 2026. Instagram says both professional types get growth, monetisation, ad, insights and messaging tools.

To change between the two professional types without going personal, Instagram's setup article gives a shorter path: open your profile, then the menu and Settings and activity, tap Account type and tools, then Account type, tap Switch account type, choose the other type and tap Switch. You keep ads, insights and the contact button, and only the type changes. That is the better move if you went Business by accident and simply want the Creator options, or if a shop account feels wrong for a personal brand.

Switching to personal to make the account private

This is the most common reason, and the order matters. Instagram's privacy article says business profiles cannot be made private and that you switch back to a personal account first.

1. Switch to personal with the six steps above.
2. Open Account privacy: from your profile, open the menu and tap Account privacy.
3. Turn on Private account and confirm.

From then on, only followers you approve see your posts. Existing followers stay, so if you want a smaller audience, remove the ones you do not want; our guide on how to hide followers on Instagram explains what a private account hides and what it does not. For teenagers the default is already private: Instagram says accounts for users under 18 are private by default.

Will switching to personal fix missing music?

Sometimes, and Instagram is vague about when. Its licensed music library article says the music in the library is intended for personal, non-commercial use, that certain business accounts and certain types of posts do not have access to it, and that it may also be unavailable in some countries or regions. It does not list which accounts are affected or say anything specific about creator accounts.

If you post for a business, the licensed library was never meant for that use, so switching type to reach a song does not make a commercial post licensed. Our guide to royalty-free music for Instagram covers what each account type can safely use, and Instagram audio not available covers the other reasons a track is blocked.

How to switch back to a professional account

Instagram says you can switch account type at any time, and going professional again takes about a minute. From the setup article:

1. Open your profile, then the menu, then Settings and activity.
2. Under For professionals, tap Account type and tools, then Switch to professional account.
3. Pick a category. Instagram notes that the category does not decide whether you become a Creator or a Business.
4. Choose Creator or Business, tap Next, and add contact details or skip them.
5. Connect a Facebook Page if you want one, or skip.

One warning: if your personal account is private, Instagram says switching to professional makes it public and accepts every pending follow request automatically. Review the requests first. If you are setting up for a business from scratch, our business account setup checklist covers the profile fields and settings to check after the switch.

If you are switching back because the professional account was not paying off, the account type was rarely the reason. the Instagram for Creators FAQ says the most important things it weighs in distribution include how much engagement per viewer the content has received, and a label on the profile changes none of that; our Instagram Ignited program covers the parts that move that response, from niche and hooks to reading your metrics.

Switching to a personal account on Instagram: FAQ