Although Instagram Threads is immensely popular, many users are wondering how to unlink their Threads profile from their main Instagram account. The internet seems divided on the new microblogging platform since the app came out at the beginning of July 2023. On the one hand, over 100 million users signed up for Threads in under a week. On the other, some are taking to its rival app, Twitter, to criticize the lack of features on Threads.
The first thing that users should know about Threads is that it is impossible to unlink their Instagram account once they sign up, something for which Threads has received heavy criticism in its early days. An official Instagram support page says that “since Threads is powered by Instagram, in order to delete your Threads profile and data, you will have to delete your Instagram account.” Users can, however, deactivate their Threads account as a less permanent solution, and remove the Threads badge from their Instagram profile. For those who still want to use Threads but not with their personal Instagram ID, they can then create a new Instagram account to sign in to the app with.
Here’s What Threads Users Can Do
First, users should remove the Threads number badge from the Instagram profile they want to unlink so people don’t think they’re available on the microblogging platform. For this, they should open their Instagram profile, tap on the Threads number badge below their name, and hit ‘Hide Badge‘ on the on-screen menu. On the following menu, users should tap ‘Remove Badge,‘ which permanently removes the Threads badge from their profile.
Then, to deactivate the Threads account, users should open the Threads app, tap the profile icon in the bottom right corner, then hit the settings icon at the top right (represented by two horizontal lines). Then, they must select ‘Account‘ and ‘Deactivate Profile‘ on the following menu. Choosing this option temporarily deactivates a user’s Threads profile. Once a user selects this option, Instagram hides their Threads profile and ensures nothing is visible to fellow Threads users. The account remains hidden or deactivates unless the user logs back in.
Create An Instagram Account Specifically For Threads
If users wish to use Threads with an Instagram account other than their current one, they’ll need to create another Instagram account to link. To do this, users need to open the Instagram app, head to their profile, tap the hamburger menu in the top right, and select ‘Settings and privacy.‘ At the bottom of the page, they should select the ‘Add account‘ option and then choose ‘Create New Account.‘ Following this, Instagram will ask them to create a username and password and enter a phone number or email address.
Next, users should enter the confirmation code sent to them and allow/deny access to their contacts based on their preference. In the next step, users should add a profile picture, which will also be visible on the Threads account. Once the new Instagram account is set, users should open the Threads app, go to their profile, and tap ‘Log Out.‘ This step won’t be required if they’ve already deactivated their previous Threads account. Now, Threads will ask them to log in with an Instagram account, and on this screen, users should select the Instagram account they just created. This way, users can access Threads without linking it to their primary Instagram account.
Source: Instagram
