How to Remove a Business Account on Instagram

Switching your Instagram from a Professional (Business or Creator) account back to a Personal account is a straightforward process, but it comes with consequences you should understand first. Maybe your small business has closed, you're shifting your strategy, or you just want your personal feed to feel… personal again. This guide will walk you through exactly how to remove a business account on Instagram, explain what you'll lose in the process, and cover alternatives like deleting your account entirely.

Why Switch Back to a Personal Account?

People revert to a personal account for many reasons, and your reason for being here probably falls into one of these categories. Understanding your “why” helps confirm if this is the right move for you.

• Closing a Business: If the brand or business associated with the account no longer exists, there’s no need for professional features.
• You Prefer Privacy: Business accounts cannot be made private. If you want to control who sees your content and follows you, switching to a personal account is the only way to lock it down.
• Simplifying Your Experience: Professional account features like Insights, contact buttons, and a promotions dashboard can feel like clutter if you’re not using them. A personal account offers a cleaner, more streamlined experience.
• Brand Strategy Shift: Sometimes, a business account feels too corporate. If you're a solopreneur or personality wanting to build a closer community, a profile that feels more personal might align better with your brand's voice.
• You Switched by Accident: It happens! A few wrong taps can suddenly turn your vacation photo album into a professional dashboard. Switching back fixes this easily.

The Big Warning: What You Permanently Lose When You Switch

Before you tap that final confirmation button, you must understand what happens when you convert your account. Most importantly, you will permanently and irretrievably lose all of your past Insights data.

That means every piece of data you've gathered is gone for good. This includes:

• Audience Demographics: Information about your followers' locations, age ranges, gender, and most active times.
• Content Performance: Data on impressions, reach, website clicks, profile visits, follows, and saves for all your posts, Reels, and Stories.
• Follower Growth Trends: Historical data tracking your follower count over time.

Once you switch, this data is erased. If you switch back to a business account later, analytics will start collecting from that point forward - your old data will not reappear. If this information is valuable to you, be sure to export it or take screenshots of your most important metrics before proceeding.

Additionally, any active or paused promotions (ads) you are running will be immediately canceled and you will not be able to run them again as a personal account.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Switch from a Business to a Personal Account

Ready to make the change? The process takes less than a minute. Just follow these simple steps directly within the Instagram app.

1. Go to Your Profile: Open the Instagram app and navigate to your profile page by tapping your profile picture in the bottom-right corner.
2. Open the Menu: Tap the hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of your screen.
3. Navigate to Settings: In the menu that appears, tap on "Settings and privacy."
4. Find Your Professional Tools: Scroll down the page until you find the section labeled "For professionals." The first option will be either "Business tools and controls" or "Creator tools and controls" depending on your current account type. Tap on it.
5. Select a New Account Type: Within this menu, look for the option that says "Switch account type" and tap it.
6. Choose Personal Account: You will now see two options: "Switch to business account" (or "creator account") and "Switch to personal account." Tap "Switch to personal account."
7. Confirm Your Decision: A pop-up screen will appear warning you about losing your Insights data. To finalize the change, tap the red "Switch to personal account" button to confirm.

That's it! Your account is now a personal profile. The Business or Creator-specific features like the Professional Dashboard and the Promotions button will immediately disappear from your profile.

Is a Creator Account a Better Fit?

Sometimes, the goal isn't to get rid of professional features entirely, but to have a label that feels more appropriate. If you're a public figure, content producer, artist, or influencer, a Creator account might be the perfect middle ground between Business and Personal.

Creator accounts keep access to analytics, ad tools, and contact options, but offer features more tailored to individuals, such as:

• More flexible profile category labels (e.g., Blogger, Artist, Fitness Model).
• A streamlined inbox that can filter DMs between Primary, General, and Requests.
• Growth insights designed for creators, like tracking daily follows and unfollows.

You can switch from a Business account directly to a Creator account by following the same steps above but choosing “Switch to creator account” in step 6. You’ll keep all your existing analytics this way.

Need to Go Further? Deactivating vs. Deleting Your Account

If switching back to a personal account isn’t enough, you might be considering deactivating or deleting your profile for good. These are two distinct actions managed through Instagram's new Accounts Center.

How to Temporarily Deactivate Your Instagram Account

Deactivating is a temporary measure. Your profile, photos, comments, and likes will be hidden from public view until you choose to reactivate it by simply logging back in.

1. Go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu, and select “Settings and privacy.”
2. Tap on “Accounts Center.”
3. Under Account settings, tap on “Personal details.”
4. Select “Account ownership and control.”
5. Tap on “Deactivation or deletion.”
6. Choose the account you want to deactivate.
7. Select "Deactivate account" (it's usually the default option) and tap "Continue."
8. You'll be asked to re-enter your password to confirm.

Your account is now hidden. To get it back, just log in with your username and password.

How to Permanently Delete Your Instagram Account

Deletion is permanent and irreversible. After requesting deletion, there is a 30-day window during which you can reverse the process by logging in. After that 30 days, all your data - photos, videos, comments, likes, messages, and followers - will be gone forever. Proceed with extreme caution.

1. Follow steps 1-6 from the deactivation guide above.
2. In step 7, select "Delete account" instead of "Deactivate account" and tap "Continue."
3. Instagram will ask you for a reason for leaving. Select one from the menu.
4. You’ll be prompted to enter your password one final time to confirm the permanent deletion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose my followers if I switch to a personal account?

No, you will not lose any followers or the content you have posted. Your followers, following list, photos, Reels, and captions will all remain exactly the same.

Can I switch back to a business account later?

Yes, you can switch back and forth between personal and professional accounts as many times as you like. However, remember that each time you switch to a personal account, your existing Insights data is deleted permanently.

What happens to my connected Facebook Page?

When you switch to a personal account, the link between your Instagram profile and your Facebook Business Page is removed. Features that rely on that connection, like sharing posts to your Facebook page from Instagram or managing messages in a unified inbox, will stop working. You would need to reconnect it if you ever switch back to a business or creator account.

Final Thoughts

Deciding on the right account type for your Instagram presence comes down to your personal or professional goals. Whether you're simplifying your profile, protecting your privacy, or closing down a chapter of your business, switching back to a personal account is a quick and easy process once you know the steps and what's at stake with your analytics.

Now that your account is set up just the way you want it, you can focus on your content strategy. If you're tired of legacy social media tools that feel clunky and unreliable, that's where we come in. At Postbase, we designed a simple, modern social media management platform focused on what actually matters today: reliability, ease of use, and first-class support for video content. Our visual content calendar makes planning a breeze, helping you create and schedule your content without the usual headaches, so you can get back to what you enjoy most.