There could be various reasons why you would want to find someone on Instagram by phone number. You may have forgotten the person’s username or can’t recall their name.
Whatever it is, finding someone on Instagram is possible, and that’s too, without linking any third-party tool. There are multiple ways to find someone on Instagram by phone number.
If you are interested in exploring the ways to find people on Instagram by phone number, continue reading the guide. Below, we have shared different ways to find someone on Instagram using a phone number. Let’s check out.
How to Find Someone on Instagram by Phone Number
Important: You won’t find people who haven’t linked their phone numbers to their IG accounts. In that case, even the people finder apps won’t work. Also, it’s unethical to find someone you don’t know personally on social media sites.
Find People on Instagram Using Phone Number (Discover People)
Since Instagram is a mobile-first app, we will use the Instagram app to demonstrate the steps. Here are the steps to find someone on Instagram using phone number.
1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone.
2. When the Instagram app opens, tap on your profile picture at the bottom right corner.
3. On the profile screen, tap on the hamburger menu at the top right.
4. On the menu that appears, select Discover People.
5. Now, on the Allow Instagram to access your contacts? prompt, select Allow Access.
6. Now, the app will ask you to grant permissions. Tap on the Allow button to grant the permissions.
7. The app will show you all people you may be interested in. If you have the person’s phone number saved, the Instagram app will suggest following them.
That’s! This is how you can Discover people on Instagram by Phone number. From now on, Instagram will use your contacts to help you find people you know and help them find you.
If the app doesn’t suggest you the people added to your contact book, you need to force stop the application. To force stop, long press on the app icon and select App Info.
On the App info screen, tap on the Force Stop. This will force stop the application. Once done, open the Instagram app again.
Enable the Contacts Permission for the Instagram app
If you’ve enabled Discover People but can’t find your contacts on the suggestions, you may not have given the app the necessary permissions.
Even if you’ve allowed the contact permissions while enabling the Discover People feature, it’s still recommended to double-check the permissions. If the Contacts permissions are disabled, you won’t be able to find your contact via phone number.
1. Long Press on the Instagram app icon on your home screen and select App Info.
2. On the App Info screen, select Permissions.
3. On the Permissions, select Contacts.
4. On the next screen, select Allow.
That’s it! This will allow the Instagram app to access your saved contacts. From now on, Instagram will show you the profiles whose contacts you have in your phone book.
How to Disconnect Contacts Syncing on Instagram?
If you have found the person you are looking for, it’s best to disconnect contacts syncing on Instagram
When Contact Syncing is enabled, Instagram will periodically sync and store your phone contacts on its servers. So, if you prefer not to share the contact details, follow these steps to disconnect contact syncing on Instagram.
1. Open the Instagram app on your Android.
2. On the bottom right corner, tap on your profile picture.
3. On the profile screen, tap on the hamburger menu at the top right.
4. Next, on the menu that appears, select Settings and Privacy.
5. On Settings and Privacy, select Accounts Center.
6. Scroll down and tap on the Your information and permissions.
7. Tap the Upload Contacts on the Your Information and Permissions screen.
8. Now, turn off the Connect Contacts option.
That’s it! This will turn off the Contact Syncing on Instagram.
Find Someone by Phone number using Third Party Tools
Hundreds of people finder tools and services are available on the web that lets you search people by phone number.
Some of these services can also fetch the social media accounts linked with the phone number. So, you can use those third-party services to find someone’s Instagram account by phone number.
You can use websites like BeenVerified and PeopleLooker for that purpose. Both of these people finder services provide detailed information about the user.
The only drawback of people finder services is that they are not free and asks you to purchase a license to find the people’s information. If you can afford those services, you can use them to find an Instagram account linked with the phone number.
Also read: How to Post an Instagram Story from a PC/Laptop
Discover People is a very useful feature of Instagram. It helps you find friends based on your contact book and suggests people with whom you’re connected on Facebook. So, use this feature if you want to connect with people on Instagram whose number you’ve saved in your contact book.
