You Can Become A 'Public Figure' On Instagram By Changing Your Settings

In 2020, becoming a celebrity isn’t quite as hard as it used to be. And that’s all thanks to social media. The term “internet celebrity” is now a common phrase in our day to day vocabulary, and as long as you have a good phone camera, you have just as good a shot as anyone at making it big on Instagram. But sometimes, having thousands of followers is not enough. On social media, having blue check verification is what lets users know that you’re the real deal. However, verification isn’t the sole way to establish a “Public Figure” status on Instagram. The good news is that you can technically become a public figure by making a quick change in your profile settings.

The first step to updating your Instagram status is by accessing your settings bar. There you can either choose “Switch to Professional Account” or “Switch to Business Account”. Both settings have a “Creator” option, which features a wide range of labels, including “Artist”, “Blogger”, “Actor”, “Architectural designer”, and many more. From this list, you can select “Public Figure”. Once you’ve done that, you have the option to display this setting change on your profile. That way, when people click on your profile, they’ll see the label “Public Figure”.

Getty Images/Elizabeth Fernandez/Moment

This strategy might seem like the perfect shortcut for those looking to give their Instagram profile a quick boost. However, the “Public Figure” label is controversial. Becoming properly verified on social media involves a rigorous verification process, including many checks. This allows online users to differentiate between real public figure accounts and the scores of fan accounts that exist on social media. Therefore, simply changing your profile settings isn’t as reliable a sign that you’re a real public figure. So while the method might garner you more followers, it doesn’t offer the guarantee of authenticity that official verification does.