How to Search on Instagram: Accounts, Keywords, Tags and Places
To search on Instagram, tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of the app, type a name, word, hashtag or place into the search bar, and switch between the result tabs, such as Accounts, Audio, Tags and Places.
To search on Instagram, tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of the app, type a name, word, hashtag or place into the search bar, and switch between the result tabs, such as Accounts, Audio, Tags and Places. Typing a keyword without a # also finds posts and reels about that topic. On a computer, open Search in the left menu of instagram.com.
Instagram search ranks results for each person differently, using what you type, what you’ve interacted with and what’s popular, as Meta describes in its system card for Instagram Search (Meta Transparency Center). This guide covers every way to search, then links to a guide for each part of Instagram. Three narrower lookups have their own guides: finding contacts and Facebook friends on Instagram, finding someone by phone number and finding an Instagram user ID.
How Do You Search on Instagram?
You search from the Search and Explore tab, the magnifying glass in the app’s bottom menu. Listed below are the 4 steps.
- Tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the search bar at the top.
- Type a username, a name, a keyword, a hashtag or a place.
- Tap a suggestion, or tap Search and switch between the result tabs.
On instagram.com, click Search in the left menu and type in the panel that opens.
What Can You Search For on Instagram?
Instagram search covers accounts, keywords, hashtags, audio and places. The table shows what to type for each.
| You want | What to type | Where results appear |
|---|---|---|
| A person or brand | Their @username or name | Accounts |
| Posts on a topic | A plain keyword, such as vegan recipes |
Top results and reels |
| A hashtag | The tag with #, such as #vegan |
Tags |
| A song or sound | The track or artist name | Audio |
| A place | A city, venue or landmark | Places |
Finding a particular person is covered in how to find someone on Instagram, searching places in how to search by location on Instagram, and hashtags in how to find trending hashtags on Instagram.
How Does Instagram Decide What Shows Up in Search?
Instagram ranks search results with an AI system that weighs how well an account, hashtag or post matches your text, your own activity on Instagram, and how popular the result is. Meta publishes the signals in its Instagram Search system card (Meta Transparency Center). That’s why two people typing the same word see different results.
Can People See What You Search on Instagram?
No, other people can’t see your searches, and searching someone doesn’t notify them. The full answer, including how suggestions work, is in can people see if you search them on Instagram, and clearing your history is in how to clear Instagram search history and reset suggestions.
Instagram Search Tips
A few habits make Instagram search far more precise. Listed below are the 5 that matter most.
- Search the keyword and the hashtag.
vegan recipesand#veganrecipesreturn different results. - Use the Audio tab to find a sound by name and see every reel using it; see how to find trending audio on Instagram.
- Search a place to see posts tagged there.
- Copy a profile link instead of searching, if someone shares it; see how to find your Instagram profile URL, handle and QR code.
- Clear old searches when suggestions get stuck on a topic.
Can You Search Instagram Without an Account?
You can open public profiles at instagram.com/username in a browser without an account, but Instagram limits browsing and search for visitors who aren’t logged in. The options are in how to view Instagram without an account.
Instagram Guides in This Series
Each part of Instagram has its own guide hub. Listed below are the 8 hubs.
- How to see who unfollowed you on Instagram
- How to see Instagram Insights
- How to find Instagram influencers in your niche
- How to find trending hashtags on Instagram
- How to download your Instagram data
- How to scrape Instagram data in 2026
- Instagram API in 2026
- How to monitor Instagram hashtags and brand mentions
How to Collect Instagram Search Results With apidojo
Instagram shows search results one screen at a time; apidojo’s Instagram Scraper on Apify runs a keyword search and returns the matching posts as JSON, CSV or Excel, with captions, likes, comments, dates, locations and each author’s profile. Each keyword runs a separate search, and a keyword can return fewer than maxItems when it stops surfacing new posts (Apify).
{
"keywords": ["vegan recipes"],
"maxItems": 500
}It costs $0.50 per 1,000 posts, and each query should fetch at least 10 posts. The developer version is how to scrape Instagram posts by hashtag or keyword. The TikTok equivalent is how to search on TikTok.
Questions people ask
Why does Instagram search show people I don't know?
Search suggestions mix accounts you interact with, accounts connected to yours, and popular results.
Can you search Instagram by keyword without a hashtag?
Yes, typing plain words returns posts and reels about the topic, not only hashtags.
How do you search Instagram on a computer?
On instagram.com, click Search in the left menu.
Can you turn off Meta AI in Instagram search?
The options are in how to turn off Meta AI search on Instagram.