Burner Instagram Account 101: What You Need To Know

It’s safe to assume that you have a burner Instagram account. How else do you comfortably traverse the app without people knowing who you are? Part of using social media accounts to the fullest potential is using a burner IG account on occasion. 

We’re not telling you that you should be creepy and stalk other people. We’re just saying that if you’re going to gather information, try to do it anonymously. You could stir up a lot of drama if people knew that you were watching their stories. You may have a good reason to want to keep up with their posts. Just learn to do it responsibly.

Maybe you don’t have one of these fake Instagram accounts. Does the idea of having one Celene treat you? If so, keep reading. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about having a burner account on Instagram.

What Is a Burner Account on Instagram? What Can I Use It For?

A burner account on IG is a secondary, anonymous Instagram account. It helps creators engage in online activities that they don’t want people to connect to their main account. It is an account that people don’t usually know about. 

When correctly executed, there is no connection between this account and the main account. Users with accounts like this may tell a few of their closest friends that this account exists. However, for the main part, they keep the existence of such an account secret.

So, what is a burner account on Instagram best used for? You may not think that you need one of these. The reality is that anyone can use one of these. If you are a serious content creator or you are just a casual user, you need a burnout account.

If you are a casual user, there might be some people that you are curious about. Think about your arch-enemy or your favorite ex. You might want to keep up with what they’re doing. But you don’t want them to know that and see your profile picture show up in their notifications. If you don’t want to give him the satisfaction, use a burner account. 

If you are a serious content creator, there may be some profiles that you take inspiration from. You want to keep up with what they are doing so you know what your next move should be. Still, making it obvious that you want to see what they’re doing is not a good look for your brand. Because of this, a burner IG account will be useful. They will never know it’s you. 

What You Should and Shouldn’t Use Your Burner For

Social media already gives people the courage to say things they wouldn’t normally say. Using an anonymous IG account only makes this courage greater. Even though people may not know it’s you, it doesn’t mean you should say anything you want to say. 

Instagram still has community guidelines that every account has to abide by. Bullying, harassing, and defaming still are not permissible on the platform. If Instagram finds that you’re doing these things, it may punish you accordingly. Try to keep your activity as aboveboard as possible. 

How To Create a Burner Instagram Account: 12 Easy Steps

So you see that a burner account on IG is something everyone can make use of. If you want to know how to create a burner Instagram account, we can help with that. The twelve steps won’t be very difficult to follow:

1. Open Instagram on your cell phone.
2. Select the Profile icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Select the three horizontal lines.
4. Choose Settings.
5. Scroll until you see the option to Add or Switch accounts.
6. Select Add account when you see the option.
7. You will see the option to log into an existing account. Select the option below to create a new account. 
8. Type in your perfectly curated IG username.
9. Select Next.
10. Now, you must add a password.
11. Now you need to add new phone or email.
12. After you’ve added your phone or email, continue to follow the prompts that come on the screen.

It’s important to use a different email address. This can help to ensure that no one makes a connection between the two Instagram profiles.

Tips for Making the Best Burner Account

Do you remember all the work you put in when creating your primary Instagram account? Well, you have to be just as interested when creating your burner account. When you create it, you might be engaging in some questionable activity. You have a lot to lose, depending on what you do with this account. 

You have to do your best to make sure that you secure everything. Here are some tips that you may not have thought about yet. 

• Try to use a dummy email address: This way, you can keep your main email address private. It could save you some trouble when people start snooping to find out who you are.
• Don’t use your profile pic: This one should be obvious. Maybe you could use the image of an alter ego of yours. You could choose a character that nobody knows you have an interest in. This might be a better choice than having no image where a profile picture should be. Some people don’t like when faceless characters keep up with their moves.
• Make sure your Instagram spam name is something very different from your main account name: You can’t just use your main IG handle and add the number two at the end. The point is that people won’t know it’s you. If we can figure out it’s you, you may as well just use your main account. That doesn’t mean you can’t be as witty or as clever as you would like.
• Don’t post about your real life: This account is not for people to keep up with your hobbies and interests. If you can help it, avoid following people you know. This is one way people can link an account back to you.

How To Find a Burner Instagram Account With a Little Snooping

Knowing about Instagram burner accounts may make you a little paranoid. Now you’re wondering who could be watching your account from a fake account. Is there a particular stalker who views your stories, hoping that you never notice? 

If you have a growing account as an Instagram creator, you may not mind. You welcome all forms of engagement, even those from burner IG accounts. However, if you’re just a regular user, you don’t feel the flattery. You are a little worried. 

You want to know how to find a burner Instagram account. We think we may have some steps that could help:

1. Identify the account that you’re suspicious of. It could be the one with the Kendrick Lamar or Michael Jackson profile picture. Of course, upon perusing the page, the accounts belong to neither of those stars. 
2. Make a note of the name and head to the Add Account section on your profile.
3. Type in this profile name, then select Forgotten Password.
4. When you type in the username again, IG will send a confirmation SMS link.
5. Now, you can see the email address or phone number of the IG account. Maybe it’s someone you know. Maybe the email address gives away the identity.

Look Through the Follower List

Some burner account holders aren’t very careful. They may connect their account to their primary one. They do this by following their main account. Or, they may follow actual friends of the main account. They likely think that they can trust a few people with the identity of their burner account. They follow these accounts to keep up with them. 

If you have the time, you can look through the friend list. If you’re able to identify a friend group, maybe you know who the missing person is. This could give you the identity of the holder of the Instagram account.

Can You Use IG Anonymously?

Yes, there are some things on Instagram that you can do anonymously. Instagram values transparency when it comes to interaction between accounts. It tries to inform IG pages as much as possible, though people want to view Instagram anonymously. 

Of course, there are some things that they cannot feasibly report to all IG users. Some things will always be anonymous to an IG user. We will explain what we mean.

Things You Can Do Anonymously

You don’t need a burner account on Instagram to view someone’s IG feed. You can go to someone’s page and scroll through it freely. Instagram will never tell them that you were there. It’s up to you to make sure that you don’t accidentally like something. We’re not sure why Instagram doesn’t report this. But for now, that’s how it is. In this sense, you can be an anonymous viewer.

Instagram also does not report when you screenshot items on a user’s feed. You can take as many pictures as you like without fear that the creator will know. Of course, Instagram is strongly against plagiarism, so use this information wisely.

You can also view story highlights for as long as they are on the page. After 48 hours, Instagram no longer tells the creator who viewed the story. It only records the emoji responses to the stories. This means you can flip through story highlights for as long as you want.

You can also watch reels anonymously. Reels can have millions of views. It may just not be feasible for Instagram to keep an account.

Things You Cannot Do Anonymously

Instagram will tell a user when you watch their story. It is constantly updating the list of viewers. When you view a story, accept that a user will get the report. Some IG users don’t like it when people know this. This is why having a burner account on Instagram is so attractive to some people.

Instagram reports when you take screenshots of disappearing messages. This doesn’t go for all messages. The ones that vanish after you viewed once or twice are the ones we’re talking about. Make sure you get an eyeful the first time.

There are tools online that promise to view content anonymously. Note that these tools are not Instagram-sanctioned. You need to be careful when you engage the services of third parties. You could find yourself giving sensitive information to anonymous sources. 

If these entities were to hack you, Instagram would not be able to help. There is no guarantee that these services will work. It may be best to stay on the safe side.

Let Plixi Help You With Your Main Account

That’s enough talk about your burner Instagram account. Let’s get back to the account that matters. You are a thriving content creator who wants to experience more growth. Instead of looking at what others are doing with your burner account, let’s reach your full potential. Plixi can help with that.

We have an in-house platform for Instagram influencers that works like a dream. There is also an impressive propriety AI targeting algorithm. We have a means to help you achieve that boost in engagement. 

Are you ready to achieve your growth goals? Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today.