Most of us know and love Instagram. It’s the highlight reel of everyone’s lives, but the pressure to fit in has made many of us superficial on the app. Instead of being a platform where we can casually share authentic moments of our lives, Instagram has become an unspoken competition of who has the most aesthetically pleasing feed or the most followers. This means most people have a super-finicky approach to filtering what photos are Insta-worthy or not and what moments make it to their carefully curated feeds.
If you want to regain the tension-free experience of simply sharing realistic, imperfect moments with your followers, then you need a Finsta. In this article, we’ll walk you through what a Finsta account is, why you probably need one yourself, and help you learn how to create one.
What Is a Finsta Account?
The term "Finsta" (or "Finstagram") is derived from the words "fake" and "Instagram." It's usually a backup account to a "Rinsta" or "real Instagram" account.
Your Rinsta will feature pictures showing you living it up, going on vacations, dressed-up dinner dates, and artsy pictures of manicures, mojitos, and mood boards.
On your Finsta, you can be your true self—real "I woke up like this" pictures, chipped nails, inside jokes, goofy face and all. This means that you cannot share details of your Finsta with the followers from your rinsta. Your Finsta username would have to be something unrelated to your real username because you wouldn’t want it to come up if someone searches your name. Think of it as your alter-ego online. If you want to learn more, be sure to check out the in-depth article we wrote about Finsta accounts.
Why You Might Need a Finsta Account
Instagram is extremely image-focused, and the illusion of perfect, well-filtered lives isn't always conducive to happiness or contentment. Unfortunately, Instagram can make users feel as if their lives aren't good enough in comparison to the seemingly blissful lives of others.
Instagram’s Close Friends feature allows you some freedom of candid expression; you can share your stories with a subset of your followers without giving access to the rest of your followers, all while maintaining a public profile. But the big difference is that the Close Friends feature only works for Instagram stories and not for feed posts.
That's why Finstas might not be such a bad idea after all. A Finsta is an opportunity to create a full Instagram account to share the candid, less-edited version of yourself with a trusted group of friends.
How to Create a Finsta Account
Creating a Finsta is a straightforward process. However, before you begin adding another account, you should come up with a unique username that does not include your real first or last name. Additionally, you should avoid using a real photo of yourself as your profile picture. Remember that unless you share your username with friends, your Finsta should be impossible to find.
Follow these simple steps to create a Finsta:
- Open your Instagram account, and click on your profile picture in the bottom right to open account details.
- Tap the three-line icon at the top right and tap Settings.
- Scroll down the Settings menu, and tap Add Account.
- From the pop-up menu, select Create New Account.
Once you've completed the steps above, you'll need to follow the ones we've listed below.
- Enter a username for your Finsta account. Don’t worry if you haven’t come up with a name you love yet, you can always change it later. If you’re struggling with creating a username unrelated to your real name, try this SpinXO username generator tool. The website will give you enough ideas for a completely random Finsta username.
- Add a different phone number or email address to your Finsta. Instagram automatically links your contact information from your existing account to the new one, and you don’t want that.
- Skip the option of connecting your new account to your Facebook. Remember, you want to be completely untraceable to your real identity online.
- Add a profile photo if you want.
That’s it! You now have a Finsta account where you can be your unfiltered self online.
Finsta and Insta: The Best of Both Worlds
It’s a little ironic that we have to create a fake Instagram profile to be real, but we're fake on the real account. However, many people are building personal and professional brands with their Instagram accounts, so it is not advisable to be unfiltered with that.
By creating a Finsta account, you can have the best of both worlds, letting loose enough to enjoy social media without all the vanity attached with keeping up appearances online.