Just like domain names, a good and easy to remember Instagram handle can help make your brand more recognizable. Usually it is a first-come-first-serve kind of deal with usernames, but it seems that Instagram decided to take advantage of their position by “stealing” the handle of one of its users and gave it to the British royal family.
According to a report from the BBC, a man by the name of Kevin Keiley had registered and used the Instagram handle @sussexroyal for the past three years. The name was inspired by the football club Reading FC which is also known as the Royals, and also by the fact that Keiley lives in West Sussex, hence the name.
However, one day Keiley discovered that his Instagram handle had been taken away by Instagram and had been given to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. According to Instagram who since confirmed the situation, they said that because Keiley’s account had been inactive, it fell in line with their policy which allows them to make changes to an account if it has been inactive for a certain amount of time.
Keiley doesn’t seem to be overly upset by it, but rather his annoyance stemmed from the fact that no one had contacted him beforehand asking if the change could be made. He also states that he does not plan to use Instagram until he manages to chat with someone from the company about it.
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