A digital creator on Instagram is someone with a professional account who chose Digital creator as their category label, the grey line of text under their name. It's self-selected when they switch to a professional account. It isn't a verification, an award or a sign of how many followers they have.
Every step and rule on this page comes from Meta's own Help Center pages, read as of October 2026. The category list itself is Instagram's, so the exact wording you see can vary.
The detail almost nobody realises: the category label and the account type are two separate choices. Meta says the category you pick doesn't decide whether you become a business or creator account. So the words Digital creator can sit on a business account, and a creator account can show a completely different category, or none at all if the owner hides it.
Where the label comes from
Every Instagram professional account is set to either Business or Creator. When someone switches, Instagram asks them to choose a category that best describes what they do, and Digital creator is one of the options. Meta's Help Center explains what the label then does:
- It appears directly below the profile picture on a professional account.
- It matches the category of the Facebook Page linked to the account, if there is one.
- The account owner can choose to display or hide it at any time after set-up.
That's all the label is. Nobody at Instagram checks that a digital creator creates anything, and there's no follower threshold to use it.
Digital creator, creator account and business account compared
| What it means | Who it suits, per Meta | Who decides | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital creator label | A category shown under the name | Anyone describing themselves as a content maker | The account owner, at set-up |
| Creator account | A professional account type | Public figures, content producers, artists and influencers | The account owner, switchable any time |
| Business account | A professional account type | Retailers, local businesses, brands, organisations and service providers | The account owner, switchable any time |
What a professional account gets you
Choosing Digital creator only makes sense alongside a professional account, and that account brings real tools. Meta lists:
- A professional dashboard to track performance and find tools.
- The ability to run ads that appear on Instagram and Facebook.
- Insights on who your followers are, when they're online and how each post performs.
- A Contact button with directions, a phone number and an email address.
- A second inbox with Primary, General and Requests folders, plus ranked requests.
- Tools to review likely spam followers and remove suspected bots.
- Improved discovery: posts and reels may appear in search engine results outside Instagram, which you can turn off.
There's one trade-off. Professional accounts can't be private. If your account is private when you switch, Instagram makes it public and accepts every pending follow request automatically. And if you link a Facebook Page, Meta says you can only share your Instagram posts to Facebook through that Page, not to another Page or your personal profile.
Can you switch back?
Yes. Meta says you can change your professional account type or go back to a personal account at any time, under Account type and tools, then Account type and Switch account type. Going back to personal has a cost: you lose access to ads, you may lose some tools, and any Facebook Page connected to the account is disconnected. If you want to keep a private personal account and run a public creator one, you don't need to choose. Instagram lets you stay logged in to up to 10 accounts at once and move between them.
How to become a digital creator on Instagram
- Go to your profile and tap More to open Settings and activity.
- Below For professionals, tap Account type and tools.
- Tap Switch to professional account.
- Select Digital creator as your category.
- Choose Creator (or Business), then finish the optional contact and Facebook Page steps.
You'll then see the professional dashboard, your insights and your eligibility for Instagram's monetisation tools. Being a digital creator doesn't make you eligible to earn on its own: each monetisation tool has its own rules.
Planning to promote your content? See Instagram Ads Manager for promoting posts.
How to hide the Digital creator label
In the app, go to your profile and tap Edit profile. Under Profile display, below Public business information, choose whether to show or hide your category label and contact details, then tap Done. On instagram.com, open Settings, choose Professional account under For professionals and untick Display category label.
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Is it worth using the label?
It depends on what you want a stranger to understand in two seconds. Digital creator is vague, and vague labels are easy to scroll straight past. It tells a visitor you make content, not what you make or who it's for. If you're a business owner, a specific category such as your trade or industry does more work, and your bio line can carry the rest. If you're an influencer pitching brands, Digital creator is fine, but the work on your grid and the results you can show are what sell you.
My verdict: don't treat it as a status symbol, and don't worry about it either. Pick the category a potential client or collaborator would search for, and hide it if none fits. If you're weighing up a creator account against a business one, how to switch off a business account on Instagram covers moving between them, and this guide to digital creator accounts on Facebook Pages explains the Facebook side of the same label.
This guide is part of my Instagram Help: 81 Guides to Followers, Hashtags, Money, Accounts and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
Does Digital creator mean someone is verified?
No. It's a category the account owner chose when switching to a professional account. Verification is a separate badge.
Is Digital creator the same as a creator account?
No. Meta says the category you choose doesn't decide whether you set up a business or creator account. They're two separate choices.
Do you need followers to be a digital creator on Instagram?
No. Anyone who switches to a professional account can choose the Digital creator category, whatever their follower count.
Can a digital creator account be private?
No. Professional accounts can't be set to private, so switching makes a private account public.
How do I remove Digital creator from my Instagram profile?
Tap Edit profile, then under Profile display choose to hide your category label, then tap Done.
