The employee who ran your Instagram left — with the password. Here's how to recover it.

Path 1: the account is in your Meta Business portfolio

If your Instagram account was added to a Business portfolio (Meta Business Suite / Business Manager) that the company controls, you're in good shape — access is managed there, not by whoever memorised the password.

1. 1
   Open Meta Business Suite → Settings

   Sign in with a company account that has full control of the portfolio.
2. 2
   Review who has access to the Instagram account

   Under Accounts → Instagram accounts, check the people assigned — and under People, check the ex-employee's portfolio membership.
3. 3
   Remove the former employee

   Removing them from the portfolio revokes their access to its assets. If they were also assigned directly on the Instagram account, remove that too.
4. 4
   Reset the account's credentials

   Update the password and check the linked email and phone on the Instagram account itself, so the old login stops working everywhere.

Path 2: it's a standalone account

No portfolio, just a username and password someone created years ago. Now it matters whose email and phone are linked.

If the linked email is a company inbox you control, use Instagram's normal password reset — you'll get the reset link and you're done in five minutes. Change the linked phone number as soon as you're in.

If the linked email and phone are the ex-employee's personal ones, the reset flows deliver the codes to them, not you. Start with the direct route: ask them. Most departures aren't hostile, and a two-line message with exactly what you need — transfer the linked email to ops@yourbusiness.com — resolves the majority of cases same-day.

If they're unreachable or refuse, you're into Meta's support flows: report the account access problem through Instagram's help centre and Meta Business support, and be prepared to prove the account belongs to the business (business documents, the account's history, its links to your website and Facebook Page). Be honest with yourself about timelines here — recovery without control of the linked contacts is slow and not guaranteed, which is why the prevention list below matters more for social accounts than for almost anything else.

Make sure this never happens again

• Run Instagram as a professional account inside a company-controlled Meta Business portfolio — access becomes role-based instead of password-based.
• The linked email is a shared company inbox; the linked phone belongs to the business, not to whoever posts.
• At least two people can reach the account at all times.
• Social accounts go on the offboarding checklist: the day someone leaves, their access goes too.