Instagram’s new checkout feature is not the only thing the company is working on. Discovered by Jane Manchun Wong, the company is said to be testing out a new name-changing feature.
Wong reverse-engineered the apps and found that Instagram plans to lock users’ old usernames when they switch to new ones. This locking system will last for 2 weeks so that users will still be able to change it back if they want to.
Instagram will start locking old usernames for 14 days after changing so the previous owner can revert to it within the grace period
This is the end of username grabber bots 😀 pic.twitter.com/mAAgbDYny2
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 20, 2019
However, the old usernames will be available for others to use after 14 days. This is a useful feature for those who want to test out new usernames without risking losing their old usernames. Wong also mentioned. “This is the end of username grabber bots,” because its possible for bots to steal high quality usernames whenever they get the chance to to sell it to others who are taking advantage of those usernames.
The company also told Fortune that the feature is still not fully developed, and its goal is to ensure that their Instagram users can feel free to make changes without worrying that their original usernames are immediately claimed by others.