How to Share Instagram Account Access

Giving someone access to your Instagram account can feel like handing over the keys to your business. Whether you're onboarding a new social media manager, collaborating with an agency, or bringing on a virtual assistant, the process needs to be secure and straightforward. This guide breaks down the correct, safe, and professional ways to share access to your Instagram profile without ever giving out your password.

Why You Should Never, Ever Share Your Instagram Password

Before we get into the right way to grant access, let’s quickly cover why the old method of just handing over your username and password is a recipe for disaster. It might seem like the easiest option, but the risks are significant, and it’s a practice that should have been retired years ago.

Here are just a few reasons why sharing your password is a terrible idea:

• It's a huge security risk. If one person on your team gets phished or has their computer compromised, your Instagram account is the first thing to go. Whoever has the password has complete control, including the ability to change the password and lock you out of your own account.
• Lack of accountability. When several people use the same login, how do you know who published a post with a typo, sent a problematic DM, or accidentally deleted a vital Story Highlight? With shared credentials, there’s no way to track who took what action.
• Connection to other accounts. Many people use the same or similar passwords across multiple platforms. Sharing your Instagram password could inadvertently give someone access to your email, Facebook, or other sensitive accounts.
• It violates trust. Requiring password sharing is an outdated practice. Professionals, agencies, and experienced freelancers will often prefer working with clients who use secure, modern methods of collaboration.
• Clunky offboarding. What happens when a team member leaves? You have to immediately change the password and then share the new one with everyone else who still needs access. This process is messy and easy to forget, leaving security holes wide open.

Fortunately, Meta (Instagram's parent company) provides professional tools that eliminate the need for password sharing entirely. Let's look at the correct methods.

The Pro Method: Using Meta Business Suite to Grant Account Access

The most secure and scalable way to share Instagram access is by using Meta Business Suite (formerly known as Facebook Business Manager). If you have a professional Instagram account (Creator or Business), it should be linked to a Facebook Page. This connection is what allows you to manage permissions through Meta’s centralized dashboard.

This approach gives you granular control over who can do what. You can assign different roles and task-specific permissions, letting someone manage DMs without giving them the power to run ads, for example. It sounds complicated, but once you know where to look, it’s a systematic process.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding People in Meta Business Suite

Follow these steps to safely grant someone access to your Instagram account:

1. Go to Your Meta Business Suite Settings

First, log in to the Facebook account that has admin access to your brand's Facebook Page. Navigate to business.facebook.com/settings. If you manage multiple businesses, be sure to select the correct Business Account from the dropdown menu in the top left corner.

2. Navigate to the "People" Section

In the left-hand navigation menu under “Users,” you'll see a tab labeled “People.” This is where you can see everyone who currently has access to your business assets (your Facebook Page, Instagram account, Ad Account, etc.).

3. Add a New Person

Click the blue "Add people" button. A new window will pop up asking for the person's email address. It’s important to use the email address associated with their personal Facebook profile. They won’t be using their personal profile to post, this is simply how Meta identifies users and grants them professional access.

4. Assign Business Account Access

Next, you’ll assign them a role. You have two main options:

• Basic Access (Recommended): This is the default and safest choice. You will manually assign permissions for specific assets in the next step. They cannot manage permissions for other users.
• Full Control: This gives the user admin-level permissions over your entire Business Account. They can add or remove people, change settings, and delete the account. Only assign this level of access to trusted business partners or owners. For team members, VAs, and agencies, Basic Access is almost always the right choice.

After selecting a role, click "Next."

5. Assign Permissions for Specific Assets (The important part!)

This is where you give the person access to your Instagram account. On the left side of the new screen, you’ll see a list of all your business assets. You'll want to do the following for both your Facebook Page and your Instagram account:

1. Select your Instagram account from the list.
2. To the right, you’ll see a list of possible tasks. Toggle on the permissions they need. Here's a breakdown:
   • Content: Allows them to create, manage, or delete posts, Stories, and Reels. This is the most common permission. You can choose "Partial access" for creating content or "Full control" to also allow content deletion.
   • Messages: Allows them to view and respond to Direct Messages in the inbox. This is essential for community managers.
   • Community Activity: Allows them to view and respond to comments and other engagement.
   • Ads: Allows them to create, manage, and view performance for ads involving that Instagram profile.
   • Insights: Allows them to view analytics and performance data for the account.
3. Select your Facebook Page and repeat the process. Even if they are only working on Instagram, they often need Page access for all features of Creator Studio or Business Suite to work correctly.
4. Once you've assigned all the necessary permissions, click "Invite."

The person will receive an email invitation to join your Business Account. Once they accept, they will be able to access your Instagram account via Meta Business Suite, Creator Studio, or other connected third-party tools without ever knowing your password.

Delegating Access for Influencer and Creator Collaborations

What if you aren’t adding a team member, but working with a creator or influencer for a campaign? You don't need to add them to your Business Suite for this. Instagram has built-in tools for brand partnerships.

The Branded Content Tool

When you work with an influencer, they can use Instagram's Branded Content tool to tag your account as a business partner in their post, Story, or Reel. This adds a “Paid partnership with [Your Brand Name]” label to their content for transparency.

The benefit for you is twofold:

1. Analytics: You get access to the performance insights for their post directly in your 'Branded Content' tab within your Instagram settings.
2. Ad Promotion: You gain permission to promote their post as a "Partnership Ad." This allows you to run the influencer's high-quality, authentic content as an ad from your own Ad Account, reaching a wider audience while leveraging their social proof.

To enable this, you need to approve the creator in your settings. You can do this by going to your Professional dashboard → Branded content tools → Approved content creators and adding their Instagram handle.

Best Practices for Managing Your Account Access Securely

Granting access is one thing, managing it smartly is another. Keep these best practices in mind to keep your account safe and your workflow organized.

1. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege

Only give people the minimum amount of access they need to do their jobs. A community manager might only need access to Messages and Community Activity. A content creator might only need Content permissions. There is no reason to give everyone Full Control. Review permissions periodically, especially if someone's role changes.

2. Require Everyone to Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

This is non-negotiable. Insist that anyone with access to your Business Management platforms uses 2FA on their own Facebook account. This single step adds a powerful layer of security that protects against unauthorized access even if their password is compromised.

3. Conduct Regular Access Audits

Once a quarter, review everyone who has access to your Instagram account in the "People" section of your Meta Business Suite. Are they still on your team? Is their access level still appropriate for their role? Remove anyone who no longer works with you. Cluttered permissions are a security risk waiting to become a problem.

4. Have a Clear Offboarding Process

When a team member, freelancer, or agency partnership ends, removing their access should be the first item on your offboarding checklist. Simply go to Business Settings → People, select their name, and click "Remove," and their access is instantly revoked everywhere. This clean process is one of the biggest advantages of using Business Suite over sharing passwords.

Final Thoughts

Sharing access to your Instagram account doesn't have to be a security headache. By forgoing an insecure password swap and instead using professional tools like Meta Business Suite and Instagram's built-in partnership features, you can collaborate effectively while keeping your account fully secure and maintaining total control.

At Postbase, we designed our platform around this modern, secure approach to social media management. Instead of you juggling passwords, you can connect your accounts once and invite your team members to collaborate in one central place. We give you a simple and unified inbox for all comments and DMs, and let you plan your content calendars visually without the clunky interface of older tools. Our goal is to provide a clean, reliable, and user-friendly experience so you can handle planning, scheduling, engagement, and analytics without everything feeling complicated.