How to Add an Admin to an Instagram Business Account

Trying to let a team member manage your Instagram business account can feel surprisingly confusing. There’s no obvious Add Admin button in the app, but the process is straightforward once you know where to look. This guide will walk you through the correct, secure way to grant someone access using Meta's tools and explain why you should steer clear of risky shortcuts like sharing your password.

First Things First: Why You Can't 'Add an Admin' Directly on Instagram

If you've spent time poking around your Instagram settings looking for a way to add users, you can stop now. It doesn't exist. That’s because managing team access for an Instagram Business Account isn’t actually handled within the Instagram app. It all runs through Meta Business Suite (formerly Facebook Business Suite), the central hub for managing your professional presence across Meta's platforms.

To give someone permissions - whether you call them an "admin," "editor," or "moderator" - you need to connect your Instagram Business Account to a Facebook Page and manage access from there. This setup is safer, gives you much more control, and keeps your login credentials private.

Prerequisite: Connect Your Instagram Account to a Facebook Page

Before you can add anyone, Meta needs to see your Instagram and Facebook profiles as a connected business entity. If you haven't done this already, it only takes a minute.

• Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
• Tap Edit Profile.
• Under "Public business information," tap on Page.
• You can either Create a Facebook Page or Connect an existing Page.
• Follow the prompts to select and link the correct Facebook Page.

Once they're connected, you’re ready to assign roles from your computer.

The Step-by-Step Guide: How to Add Someone in Meta Business Suite

This is the official and most secure method for granting someone access to manage your Instagram account. Grab your laptop and follow these steps.

Step 1: Open Meta Business Suite

Head over to business.facebook.com and log in to the account that's connected to your business. If you manage multiple businesses, be sure to select the correct one from the dropdown menu on the top left.

Step 2: Go to Settings

Look for the Settings icon (it looks like a gear) in the bottom-left menu. Click on it to open your business account's settings.

Step 3: Access the 'People' Section

In the menu that appears, click on People. This is where you can view everyone who currently has access to your business assets and invite new people to join.

Step 4: Invite a New Team Member

Click the blue Add people button in the top right corner. A new window will pop up where you’ll configure their invitation and access levels.

Step 5: Enter Their Email Address

In the first field, type in the email address of the person you want to invite. Crucially, you need to use the email address that is associated with their personal Facebook account. Meta uses this to identify them and send the invitation.

Step 6: Assign Their Business Role (Super Important!)

This is the most critical step. You'll need to decide what level of overall control this person should have over your entire business account. You have two main choices:

Employee Access (Default Recommendation)

This option gives the user access only to the specific accounts and tools you assign them. They cannot change business settings, add or remove other users, or delete the business account. This is the best choice for most team members, SMMs, freelancers, and agency partners. It follows the "principle of least privilege" - giving just enough access to get the job done, and no more.

Admin Access (Use with Extreme Caution)

Granting Admin access gives someone the keys to your entire kingdom. They have full control over everything: they can change settings, add and remove people (including you), modify billing information, and even delete your entire business account. Only give admin access to trusted business partners or co-owners. Once someone is an admin, they have the same power you do.

For this tutorial, let’s assume you’re adding a team member and select Employee access. Click Next.

Step 7: Assign Specific Account Access

Now you get to decide exactly what this person can do and where. You'll see a list of all your business assets, including your Facebook Page and Instagram Account.

1. Find your Instagram account in the list and select it by checking the box next to its name.
2. On the right, a list of permissions will appear. This is where you can customize their capabilities specifically for Instagram.

Here’s a breakdown of what those permissions mean:

• Content: Check this box if you want them to be able to create, publish, schedule, or delete posts, stories, and reels. This is the permission needed for day-to-day content managers. You can choose "Partial access" for scheduling only or "Full control" to let them publish immediately.
• Messages &, Community Activity: This combination allows them to respond to DMs, reply to comments, and manage other community interactions. If you're bringing on a community manager, these are essential toggles.
• Ads: This is for people who will be creating and managing your Instagram ad campaigns via Ads Manager.
• Insights: Grant this access so they can view your account's performance data, including post reach, follower growth, and audience demographics.

Example Scenario: You hired a virtual assistant to schedule posts and answer comments. You would turn on the toggles for Content and Community Activity, but leave Ads and Insights off. This ensures they can do their job without having access to sensitive performance or financial data.

Step 8: Send the Invitation

Once you’ve configured their permissions, click the Next button. Review your selections one last time to make sure they're correct, then click Send request.

The person will receive an email inviting them to join your business. All they have to do is click the link and accept the invitation. Their status will show as "Pending" in your 'People' list until they do.

The Easy Way vs. The Right Way: A Warning About Sharing Passwords

It can feel tempting to skip all these steps and just text your password to your team member. It seems easier, but it's one of the riskiest things you can do for your business.

Why You Should Never Share Your Instagram Login Details

• Zero Security: Anyone with your password has complete control. They can change the password, update the email address, and permanently lock you out of your own account.
• Accountability Issues: When multiple people use the same login, you have no way of knowing who posted what, who deleted a comment, or who sent an unprofessional DM.
• Blocked Accounts: Instagram's security systems are designed to detect suspicious login patterns. When it sees your account logging in from different devices and locations in a short period, it can trigger a security alert, temporary lock, or even a suspension.
• Two-Factor Authentication Chaos: If you (rightly) have 2FA enabled, every login from a new device will require a verification code, leading to a constant back-and-forth of "Can you send me the code?" messages.

Using Meta Business Suite solves all of these problems. It's the professional, secure, and scalable way to build a team.

Best Practices for Managing Your Team's Access

Once you have a system for adding people, it’s good practice to manage access cleanly.

• Audit Permissions Regularly: Every quarter, visit the 'People' section in your Business Suite and review who has access. If a freelancer's contract has ended or an employee has left the company, remove them immediately.
• Grant Only What's Necessary: Don't give everyone admin access just because it's easier. Take the extra 30 seconds to assign specific roles. This protects your assets and clarifies responsibilities.
• Create Clear Guidelines: Onboarding a new admin? Provide them with a simple document outlining your brand's tone of voice, content pillars, response protocols for DMs and comments, and any other "rules of the road" they should know. This sets them up for success.

Final Thoughts

Bringing team members on board to help manage your Instagram is a massive step in growing your brand. By using Meta Business Suite to correctly assign roles, you can give permissions out securely, maintain full control of your digital assets, and empower your team to focus on what matters most: creating great content and engaging with your community.

Once you have your team set up with the right permissions, the next step is building an efficient workflow. At Postbase, we designed our platform to eliminate the back-and-forth chaos that often comes with team collaboration. Within our platform, your entire team can use a beautiful, visual calendar to plan and approve content, manage all DMs and comments from every platform in a single unified inbox, and track analytics that tell you what’s actually working. It’s the simple, streamlined command center your team needs to get great work done, faster.