OG Instagram handle glossary

Fifteen terms used on Ogclaim

OG

Slang for an original or early handle. Instagram has no OG category or badge.

Handle

The unique part of an Instagram profile that follows the @ sign. Also called the username.

Short handle

A handle with few characters. Fewer spellings exist at shorter lengths, so these are scarcer.

Clean handle

A handle spelled without padding such as repeated letters, underscores or trailing digits.

Dormant handle

A handle on a profile that has been quiet for a long time. It is a state, not a right to the handle.

Inactive handle

A handle on a profile that is not currently used. Inactivity is not a rule violation.

Claim

A request through an official Instagram process for a taken handle to be made available to you.

Route

An official process a claim can use: impersonation, intellectual property, Community Standards or previous username.

Previous username

A handle you used before. Instagram says you can usually change back if nobody new has taken it.

Swap

A private trade of handles or accounts. It is outside Instagram’s rules and Ogclaim does not do it.

Handle broker

A person who offers to sell or arrange handles. Instagram provides no sale process.

Registered mark

A trademark on an official register. It is the clearest basis for an intellectual property report.

Impersonation

A profile that pretends to be another person or business.

Failed claim

A claim where Instagram does not make the handle available. Ogclaim refunds 100% of a failed username claim.

Display name

The name shown on a profile. It is not unique and is separate from the handle.