How to delete an Instagram account without the password

Be careful what you search for here. Services claiming to delete an Instagram account without the password are, without exception, either scams or credential-harvesting. There is no third party that can do this. Everything below goes through Instagram directly.

Route 1 — you still have the email or phone number

This resolves most cases in a couple of minutes.

1. On the login screen, tap Forgot password?
2. Enter your username, email or phone number.
3. Open the reset link Instagram sends and set a new password.
4. Log in, then follow the standard deletion steps.

Route 2 — you have lost the email and phone too

Instagram can verify you by other means. Expect this to take a few days.

1. On the login screen, tap Forgot password? then Need more help?
2. Choose I can't access this email or phone number and give a contact address you do control.
3. Follow the verification Instagram requests. For an account with photos of you, this is usually a short video selfie so they can match you to the images. For an account without your face, expect questions about the email address and phone number used at signup, and the approximate creation date.
4. Once you are back in, delete the account.

The video selfie is only used for verification and Instagram states it is deleted within 30 days. It is not posted anywhere.

If the account was hacked

Start at instagram.com/hacked rather than the normal reset flow. It handles the case where an attacker has changed the email and phone number, which the standard reset cannot. Recover the account first; then you can delete it if you still want to.

If it is not your account

You cannot delete an account belonging to someone else, and no legitimate route exists to do so. What you can do:

• Impersonation of you: report it at instagram.com/impersonation. You will need photo ID.
• An old account of yours you cannot access: use Route 2 above.
• A deceased person's account: Instagram has a dedicated process for memorialising or removing it, which requires proof such as a death certificate or obituary link.