Changing Instagram accounts can feel like a fresh start. You might be rebranding, splitting a business from your personal profile, or leaving behind a handle you chose years ago. Your Reels won’t come with you, though. Instagram doesn’t offer a simple button that moves posts from one account to another, so anything you want to keep has to be saved first.

Treat the switch like moving house: check what you own, pack it carefully, label the boxes, and make sure everything arrived before you hand back the keys.

First, Check Whether You Need a New Account

Starting over isn’t always necessary. Some common goals can be met without leaving your current account:

• New name or brand: You can change your username and display name in your profile settings. Your Reels and followers stay where they are.
• Moving from personal to business use: You can switch between personal and professional account types in your settings.
• New direction for your content: You can archive older posts to tidy your grid without deleting them.

A new account makes more sense if you’re handing the old one to someone else, separating two audiences, or leaving a profile behind for good. Even if you stay, a backup is still worth having, because accounts can be hacked or locked.

Take Stock of What You Have

Spend 20 minutes making a simple list in a spreadsheet or notes app before you download anything. This gives you something to check your backup against later and helps you decide what deserves the most care.

Scroll through your Reels tab and record the following for each Reel, or at least for the ones that matter most:

• Posting date
• Short description, such as “sourdough starter tips”
• Link to the Reel
• Full caption and hashtags
• Name of the audio used
• Any collaborators, clients or brands involved
• Views, likes, saves and shares

Then sort the Reels into three groups:

1. Must keep: best performers, client work, pinned Reels and anything you plan to repost.
2. Nice to have: older content with some sentimental or reference value.
3. Can let go: outdated promotions, expired offers and test videos.

If you have hundreds of Reels, record full details only for the first group. Instagram’s data export, covered below, will capture much of the rest.

Don’t forget your drafts. Instagram generally stores them on the device where you created them, so they may not appear in an account export. Open each draft you want to keep and finish or save it before you make the switch.

Save Your Reels, Starting With the Best Copies

Not all saved copies are equal. Work through these sources in order, from the best quality to the most convenient.

1. Look for the original files

Instagram compresses videos when you upload them, so the file on your phone or computer is usually better than anything you can get back from the app. Check your camera roll, cloud storage, and the projects folder in any editing app you use. If you hired an editor, ask them for the final exports.

2. Request your Instagram data export

This is the most complete way to collect your content in one go. Menu names change from time to time, but the process usually looks like this:

1. Go to your profile, open the menu, and select Accounts Center.
2. Choose Your information and permissions.
3. Select Export your information, which may appear as “Download your information.”
4. Create an export, choose the correct profile, and select export to your device.
5. Customize the export so it includes your content. Set the date range to All time and the media quality to High.
6. Start the export and wait for the notification.

An export can take anywhere from a few minutes to several days, depending on the size of your account, so don’t leave it until the last minute. The download link also expires after a limited time, so save the files as soon as they’re ready. If the steps look different on your screen, Instagram’s Help Center has current instructions.

HTML format is easier to browse, while JSON is better if you plan to process the data with a script or spreadsheet tool. If you’re not sure, choose HTML. Expect generic file names, which we’ll deal with shortly.

3. Fill any gaps one Reel at a time

Sometimes an export misses something, or you only need three or four Reels and don’t want to wait. Instagram lets you save some of your own Reels from the post’s menu. Depending on your account type and the audio you used, that option may be missing or the music may be left out.

For those cases, you can paste a Reel’s public link into an Instagram Reels downloader to get a video file. You shouldn’t need to share your Instagram password to do this, so treat any site that asks for it as a red flag.

Whichever method you use, download only your own videos or videos you have permission to use, and respect creators’ copyright. Having a file on your device doesn’t give you the right to repost it. If a Reel includes a client’s footage, a collaborator’s work or a clip from another creator, get their approval before you use it on the new account.

Label Everything So You Can Find It Later

A folder full of files with names like “video_8471.mp4” won’t help you much a year from now. Use one naming pattern and stick to it:

`2026-03-14_sourdough-starter-tips_original.mp4`

Starting with the date keeps files in chronological order. The description makes them searchable, and the last part tells you whether it’s an original or a copy downloaded from Instagram.

A simple folder structure works well:

• Reels (with a subfolder for each year)
• Thumbnails and covers
• Instagram export (the full, untouched download)
• Inventory (your spreadsheet and any screenshots)

Next, add the file name to your spreadsheet so each video is linked to its caption and audio details. Take screenshots of your stats too, especially for your best Reels. Numbers from the old account are useful if you show past results to clients, sponsors or employers, and it’s easier to capture them now than to reconstruct them later.

Finally, store more than one copy. A popular guideline is the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of your data on two types of storage, with one copy somewhere else. For example, you could keep your files on your laptop, on an external drive, and in a cloud storage account.

Test the Backup Before You Touch the Old Account

This step is easy to skip, but it’s the one that protects you from an unpleasant surprise. Before you delete, deactivate or hand over anything, run through this checklist:

• Compare the number of saved files with your inventory.
• Open 10 to 15 videos at random, including some of your oldest, and play them all the way through.
• Check that the sound works, especially on Reels with licensed music.
• Open your Instagram export and confirm that the captions are there.
• Open the backup on a second device to make sure the files aren’t stored only on your phone.

If you plan to delete the old account, leave a generous gap between finishing the backup and sending the request. Instagram has generally offered a window of about 30 days to change your mind, but you shouldn’t rely on it as a safety net. Check the current terms when you’re ready, and remember that once deletion is final, your content can’t be recovered.

Bring Your Best Reels to the New Account

With your backup safe, you can decide what to bring over. Reposting everything rarely makes sense, because a new profile with dozens of old videos published in a single week can feel like a rerun. Try this instead:

• Choose a small starter set. Six to nine strong Reels are usually enough to show new visitors what you do.
• Post from the cleanest copy you have. Use the original file wherever possible, especially if your saved copy carries an old handle or watermark.
• Refresh the packaging. Write a new opening line, update the cover, and correct any details that have gone out of date.
• Reconsider the music. Licensed tracks available in Instagram’s library don’t automatically carry over to your own uses of the file, so add audio again through the app where you can.
• Point people to the new profile. If the old account stays online, update its bio and pin a short Reel announcing the move before you stop posting.

Spacing these posts out over a few weeks also gives you time to mix older favourites with new content.

Your Reels, Safely Moved

A good move comes down to doing things in the right order: list your Reels, save the best copies, label the files, and test the backup. Only then should you say goodbye to the old account. Start with the data export today, since it’s the step you may have to wait on, and you’ll have plenty of time to handle the rest without rushing.