What to know
- Instagram now lets you create nicknames for your friends.
- Open a conversation and tap on your friend’s name at the top, select Nicknames, select a friend, and give them a nickname.
- Nicknames appear only in DMs and nowhere else. You can also give yourself a nickname and decide who gets to do so.
Tired of seeing full names while chatting with your friends on Instagram? Thankfully, you can now customize names across DMs and give a nickname to your friends (and yourself). Here’s how to go about it.
How to create a nickname for your Instagram friends
You can create nicknames on one-to-one chats as well as group chats. Here’s how.
Step 1: Open a conversation from the Messaging screen.
Step 2: Tap on your friend’s name at the top. Select Nicknames.
Step 3: Here, you’ll see everyone who’s part of the chat. Tap on a friend’s name to give them a nickname.
Step 4: Give your friend a nickname and tap Done.
Step 5: From now on, you’ll see their nicknames in your DMs.
Note that this doesn’t change the username anywhere else on Instagram, only in your DMs.
By default, only people that follow you can give you a nickname. But you can change this by tapping on the Change who can edit your nickname.
Be it to share an inside joke or to simplify long usernames, Nicknames are a fun way to interact with your friends on Instagram. As part of the recent update, Instagram has also brought new stickers and location sharing.
