Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today, with over 1 billion monthly active users. With its massive reach, Instagram users are often curious to learn the age and history behind accounts on the platform – including their own accounts, those of friends, celebrities, brands and more.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll provide an in-depth look at the various methods to check the age or creation date of any Instagram account.
– Expand on introduction with more statistics about Instagram‘s growth and popularity to showcase expertise
– Provide examples of reasons someone may want to check account age
– Foreshadow topics that will be covered in depth throughout guide
A Brief History of Instagram‘s Growth
Before diving into the various techniques to check account age, let‘s briefly explore Instagram‘s impressive growth trajectory since launching in October 2010:
- Reached 1 million registered users in just 2 months
- Hit 10 million users by end of 2011, just 1 year after launch
- Surpassed 100 million active users by early 2013
- Crossed 500 million users in mid 2016
- Topped 1 billion monthly active users in 2018
This exponential growth shows how Instagram has evolved into a social media behemoth in less than a decade. As the platform continues expanding, account age can serve as an interesting indicator into the history of specific Instagram profiles.
You may want to lookup account age for your own nostalgic memories, to see when a celebrity joined, or learn more about a brand‘s marketing history. Let‘s look at some effective tactics to reveal age.
Checking Your Own Account Age in the Instagram App
The easiest way to check your own Instagram account creation date is directly within the Instagram mobile app. Just follow these simple steps:
- Launch the Instagram app on your mobile device and visit your profile tab.
- Tap the ☰ menu icon in the top right corner.
- Select the "Settings" option from the menu.
- Choose "Account" from the Settings page.
- Scroll down on your Account page and look for "Joined".
This "Joined" date shows the exact day, month and year that you created and joined Instagram. A quick calculation will tell you precisely how many years, months or days your account has existed.
For instance, if you Joined Instagram on March 5, 2015, and it is presently January 20, 2023, then your account age is 7 years, 10 months, and 15 days old.
Checking your own account age directly within Instagram provides the most accurate and definitive result, with no need for third-party tools.
– Incorporate statistic or chart showcasing increase in Instagram usage during COVID pandemic when people were stuck at home.
– Add example of someone reminiscing and feeling nostalgic about their account age.
How to Check the Age of Any Instagram Account
While your own account age is easily visible in the app, checking the age of other Instagram accounts requires utilizing the profile‘s "About This Account" info. Here are the steps:
- Navigate to the profile page of the Instagram account.
- Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
- Choose "About This Account" from the menu options.
- Scroll down to find the "Joined" date showing the month and year when the account was created.
Although this doesn‘t show the specific day like your own account, you‘ll at least see the month and year to estimate the general age of any Instagram profile.
For example, if an account‘s "Joined" date shows June 2015, and today is January 2023, you can deduce the account is approximately 7 years and 7 months old.
– Include tips to double check account age, in case accounts changed usernames or owners.
– Provide examples of checking age of friend‘s accounts and celebrity accounts.
While this calculation gives you a good approximation for any public Instagram account age, it‘s worth double checking if you notice any discrepancies. In some cases, accounts may have changed owners or usernames over the years, so the creation date would not fully reflect the account‘s actual history.
Using Third-Party Tools to Check Instagram Account Age
In addition to the native Instagram app, there are various third-party services and tools that can be used to look up the age and creation date of Instagram accounts:
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IG Examiner – Provides a free account age lookup just by entering a username. Also offers a paid Pro version with additional analytics.
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Social Bear – Checks account creation dates and estimates age in years, months and days. Free with option to upgrade.
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Gramho – A website allowing you to easily check Instagram account age online for free.
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Statusbrew – Social media management platform with an account age lookup tool. Requires free sign-up.
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Snaplytics – Enter an Instagram handle to see estimated age and first post date. Free plan available.
These tools provide a quick and convenient way to get an approximate age for most Instagram profiles publicly. However, be cautious of any services asking for passwords or personal information access.
Here are some tips when using third-party Instagram account age checkers:
- Stick to reputable, well-known tools like the examples above
- Avoid any tool requesting passwords or email access
- Confirm age estimates against other methods
- Don‘t overshare personal details or info
– Include table comparing features of the top 3rd party tools
– Add images to showcase the tools and sites
Checking Age of Brand and Business Accounts
The techniques above are best suited for determining the age of personal Instagram accounts. However, brand, business and celebrity accounts don‘t always display the "Joined" date publicly.
To estimate the age of an Instagram brand or business profile, try these tips:
- Check their website or other social channels for launch dates
- Look at their earliest Instagram posts and engagements
- Search news of their Instagram debut announcement
- Contact them directly to inquire about launch timing
Getting an exact creation date can be difficult for branded accounts. But you can piece together an approximate age through their digital breadcrumbs across websites and social platforms.
– Provide examples of estimating age for brand accounts like Coca-Cola, Nike, Netflix
Reasons for Checking Account Age
There are a wide variety of reasons one might want to check the creation date of an Instagram account. Some examples include:
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Personal Nostalgia – Looking up your own or friends‘ join dates can be a fun trip down memory lane.
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Account Anniversaries – Celebrating yearly Instagram anniversaries based on join dates.
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Celebrity Join Dates – Discovering when your favorite celebrities first started using Instagram.
– Incorporate stat about average user checking account age of friends or celebrity
– Add section about checking ex‘s account and seeing old photos for closure
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Brand Monitoring – Understanding a brand‘s marketing history and Instagram adoption timing.
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Inauthentic Behavior – Checking for spam or bots based on suspicious young account ages.
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Sales Prospecting – Identifying age and history of followers or potential partners.
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General Curiosity – Simply wondering when an account joined out of benign interest.
There are certainly many valid reasons for wanting to lookup the age of Instagram profiles. The context behind your search can guide which method would work best.
Does Account Age Really Matter?
While the age of an Instagram account may provide some fascinating insights and trends, it is rarely crucial information. Here are a few reasons why account age itself does not necessarily indicate value or trustworthiness:
- Older accounts can still spread spam or misinformation
- Stale accounts may have switched owners and purposes
- Activity and quality of content matters more than age
- Young accounts can quickly build authentic audiences
Rather than making judgements on age alone, look at the full context of an account‘s content, engagement, and behaviors. An outdated account age is rarely a sole indicator of current status.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Checking the age and creation date of Instagram accounts can serve many purposes, from nostalgia to brand monitoring to understanding followers.
Here are some key tips to effectively check Instagram account age:
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Use Instagram‘s native settings to check your own exact join date or a friend‘s general age.
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Leverage third-party tools cautiously to estimate age for any public account.
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Piece together clues to estimate age for brands lacking a public join date.
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Consider account age as secondary – assess overall content and activity first.
I hope this comprehensive guide provides you with a detailed overview of how to check the age for any Instagram account. Now go explore the many fascinating histories across this creative visual platform!
