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How do you make your followers private on instagram


How to Hide Followers and Following Lists in Instagram

Having a presence on social media has become part of our identity. Not that everyone has to have a Facebook or Instagram account, but people assume that you do. For the most part, we do share our lives on social media, but not everyone is comfortable with all that it brings.

Instagram, and other social media platforms, have blurred the lines of what’s considered private information. For that reason, you ought to take some precautions. Maybe you want to hide your Followers and Following list on Instagram. But can you do that?

Hiding Your Followers

Quick Links

  • Hiding Your Followers
  • Control Your Visibility
    • Step 1
    • Step 2
    • Step 3
    • Step 4
  • Removing Followers
    • Step 1
    • Step 2
    • Step 3
  • Restricting Accounts
    • Step 1
    • Step 2
    • Step 3
    • Step 4
  • Block Accounts
    • Step 1
    • Step 2
    • Step 3
    • Can I hide who I’m following on Instagram?
    • Can I hide my activity status on Instagram?
    • Can people who don’t follow me see my followers?
  • Stay Mindful About Online Privacy

The rules of social media platforms sometimes seem quite arbitrary. It’s a balance between giving the users a lot of choices to control their accounts but still maintaining the core of what they represent. Instagram, on the surface, has a straightforward concept. Before adding the Instagram Story Feature and IGTV, it was just a place where you posted your photos and videos. Now, it’s a lot more than that.

So, can you hide the Followers and Following list on Instagram? Unfortunately, you can’t. The actual numbers that represent how many people you’re following and how many people follow you in return are always visible. It doesn’t matter what type of account you have – you can’t hide the numbers. It’s one of the areas where Instagram is uncompromising.

It makes sense. Whether you like it or not, a lot of what drives social media is how many followers you have. It would be a counterintuitive business decision if you could just hide the Following and Followers list on Instagram and leave everyone to speculate. But there are things you can do to manage who sees what in your account.

Control Your Visibility

People don’t always think about what kind of imprint they leave on the Internet. There’s too much information, too many photos, and you can’t control what other people post either. It’s not only prudent but advisable to be aware of who sees what on your Instagram account. Therefore, unless you run a business online, or you’re an influencer or celebrity, you should switch from a public to a private profile.

This automatically allows only your followers to see the list of people you follow and those who follow you back. All they have to do is tap on the number representing each list. However, if your account is public, anyone can access these lists and see the profiles. In order to change from a public to private Instagram account you have to:

Step 1

Open Instagram on your mobile device.

Step 2

Navigate to your profile by tapping on the icon in the far right-hand lower corner. Tap on the three vertical lines at the top right and click on “Settings”.

Step 3

Tap “Privacy,” and tap on “Account Privacy.”

Step 4

Toggle the switch to the right of “Private Account” so that it turns blue.

You can make this change on Instagram for the web as well. A private account means that if people want to follow you, they’ll have to send requests. You then review them and decide who you want to share your Instagram profile with. This includes who’s in your Followers and Following lists.

Removing Followers

Even if you already have a private Instagram account, you can find yourself in a situation where you want to hide your list of followers. But what if the person or persons you want to hide the information from is already following you? This could quite conceivably happen. And when it does, it’s comforting to know you can do something about it. To remove a follower all you have to do is:

Step 1

Open your Instagram app and go to your profile.

Step 2

Tap on the Followers number. There you’ll see a list of your Followers. You can use the search bar to find specific people.

Step 3

Next to each user name you’ll see “Remove”. Click and confirm your selection.

This way the people who previously had access to the list of your Followers and Following lists no longer do. They can still find your profile on Instagram, but they’d have to send you another request to access your page again.

Restricting Accounts

Maybe you’re not looking to remove a follower, but are still experiencing certain issues with them that makes you want to restrict their access to your Instagram account. Instagram absolutely lets you do that. The person you restrict won’t be able to see when you’re online or whether or not you’ve read their messages.

The comments they leave on your posts will only be visible to them. You can choose to see the comment by tapping “See Comment”. And if you want other people following you to see their comment, you can just select “Approve”. Alternatively, you can just delete it or ignore it. Restricting or un-restricting someone’s account can be done this way:

Step 1

Go to your Instagram profile.

Step 2

Go to “Settings” and then “Privacy”.

Step 3

Select “Connections” and then “Restricted Accounts”. Then “Continue”.

Step 4

Type in the name of the account you want to restrict and then select “Restrict” next to their name. Use the same process to “Unrestrict” them if you so choose.

You can also access the restricting accounts feature through Direct messaging, comments, or through their own profile. But this way is probably the easiest.

Block Accounts

Finally, you can always block an Instagram account. It’s usually the final resort for some people. But those with a large following who receive a lot of negativity online are well-accustomed to using it. It’s important to note that if you block someone, they won’t be able to see your followers or who you’re following.

Therefore, it’s probably best to know exactly how to block someone online.

Step 1

Go to the person’s profile page.

Step 2

Tap on the three dots in the top right corner of the screen.

Step 3

Select “Block” and confirm.

That’s it, they’re gone. They won’t be able to see your followers and following lists and won’t be able to see your account at all.

Can I hide who I’m following on Instagram?

Unfortunately, there are no native functions that allow you to hide who you’re following. You can either follow the steps above to keep unwanted snoopers from seeing your interests, or you can create a secondary account to follow whoever you’d like undetected.

Can I hide my activity status on Instagram?

Yes, in the name of privacy this is one of the options Instagram offers its users. You can hide the ‘last active’ status so that it doesn’t appear in Instagrams’ direct messaging feature.

Can people who don’t follow me see my followers?

If you have a private account no. If your account is set to public, or you are mutual followers your follower information is available to that account.

Stay Mindful About Online Privacy

It can be overwhelming, hiding profiles, and restricting accounts. You can easily get tired of it and feel like being on social media isn’t worth the trouble. But with a few clicks, you can make things run a lot smoother. It’s natural to be protective of your privacy, and of those who follow you.

Let us know what you think about this issue in the comments section below.

How to hide followers on Instagram? 3 easy ways

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Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks used by most people. However, protecting your privacy on Instagram can be a little tricky especially if you are new to the app. In this blog we will look into how to hide followers on Instagram.

Instagram has not made it very obvious and easy for those who want stricter privacy settings. Especially for those with a large number of followers but who want to hide it from others.

Before introducing Instagram Reels and Stories it was just a simple platform for sharing photos. However, as the platform features grow it has become increasingly tricky to protect your information on the platform.

Contents

Can you hide followers on Instagram?

The question people often ask is how to hide followers on Instagram? Unfortunately, for Instagram users his is not something you can do.

The number of people that you follow on Instagram and how many people are following you remains visible when people click on your Instagram profile.

Related : Is Instagram safe for kids?

How to hide followers on Instagram using a business account?

Regardless of which account that you use , you cannot hide followers & following lists on Instagram.

Even for a business account, the number of followers remains visible to everyone on the platform.

Do check out the list below

How to hide followers on Instagram using a private account?

Many people don’t consider the importance of keeping your social media account private. Unless you are celebrity or influencer you should always keep your profile private.

You never know how others can use the photos and information that you post.

When using a private account others cannot see the pictures or stories that you post. However, when using a public profile this is visible to everyone.

While the numbers of followers and following list remain visible even on a private account, others cannot view who you actually follow. All they can see is just a number.

Only the people that you actually allow to follow you can view who you follow. On the other hand, on a public account, anyone can see who you are following and your following lists.

The reason why social media platforms want the number of followers to remain visible is that this is the main reason for their existence. Social media apps are driven by number of followers a user has on it’s account.

The obsession people have with the number of followers is what keeps them coming back to the platform. Hence, the app will not make it easy for you to hide followers on Instagram.

Instagram has been testing hiding likes to improve the digital well-being of its followers. This feature is not rolled out everywhere yet.

Maybe in the future Instagram may allow users to hide followers but we don’t see that happening any time soon.

However, there are things you can do to control your visibility on the platform and what people can see when clicking on your profile.

There are 3 things you can do to limit visibility on your Instagram account :

  1. Switching to private mode
  2. Block / Remove user
  3. Restrict a user’s account.

Now let’s take a look at each one of them.

1. Hide followers on Instagram by switching to private mode

By switching to a private profile you can hide the people you follow on Instagram.

You cannot hide the number of followers but you can hide who is actually following you and who you follow.

How to switch to private mode on Intagram:

  1. Open the Instagram app
  • Click on your own profile then click on the 3 horizontal lines at the top right corner of the screen

3. Click on Settings

4. Tap Privacy Settings and Account Privacy

5. Click on Private Account

By switching to a private Instagram account, anyone who wants to follow you must seek for your permission.

You can then decide if you would allow that person to view your profile .

The next thing you can do is either block a user or restrict account. Le’t take a look how you can do this.

2. Difference between Block and Remove on Instagram?

The people you block can no longer find your profile and hence not be able to view your followers on the app.

When you block a user on Instagram, they can no longer search for your profile. As far as they are concerned you are no longer on Instagram even when they try to search for your account.

The only way a person who is blocked can find you is by using another Instagram account and they search for your account. But the blocked account cannot find your profile.

On the other hand, when you remove someone on Instagram they can still see that you have an account on Instagram when they search for your name.

However, they will have to send you another friend request to view your profile.

Related : How to use Instagram Reels to get more followers?

How to block followers on Instagram?

If you do not want certain people to view your profile then the best things you can do is to completely block them.

Blocking can seem a little extreme but it’s the only way to hide followers on Instagram from certain people.

Follow the steps below to hide followers on Instagram :

  1. Click on the profile of the person you want to block
  2. Click on the 3 dot on the top of their profile page
  1. Click Block

4. Click ‘Yes I am sure”.

How to remove followers on Instagram?

If you think blocking a user might seem extreme, you can remove them instead.

When you remove a follower they will not be notified that they have been removed. Instead, when they click on your profile they will see that they are no longer following you and will need your permission to view your profile again.

By removing followers and keeping your profile private you cannot hide followers on Instagram but all they can see is the number of followers and not the list of people actually following you.

Follow the steps below to remove followers from Instagram :

  1. Open Instagram

2. Click on your profile

3. Click on Followers at the top of the screen

4. Either search for people you no longer want to follow you or go through the list and click on “Remove”

By doing so you have not limited the number of people you allow to follow you and hide followers on Instagram.

While the people you remove can find your profile, they will have to send you another request to view your full profile.

3. How to restrict accounts on Instagram?

Restricting a person means limiting what a person can view on your profile without removing the person.

For example, the user that is restricted cannot view when you are active on Instagram or view your stories.

The user also cannot see your online status on Instagram and if you have read a message being sent to you by that user.

Follow the steps below to restrict a user on Instagram:

  1. Open Instagram app
  2. Click on your profile icon
  3. Click on Settings and then click Privacy

4. Click Connections

5. Click Restricted Accounts

6. Fill in the name of the user you want to restrict and click on ‘Restrict’.

If you decide to unrestrict them at any time then follow the same steps as above.

Why can I no longer search a friend’s followers on Instagram?

You would always be able to see the number of followers on a friend’s account. The only reason you cannot view the actual list of followers is if you are no longer friends with that person and they have changed their account from public to private mode.

Also, if your friend has blocked you then you can no longer search for their account and hence see their followers.

How to hide following lists on Instagram from followers?

You can hide following lists on Instagram by switching to a private mode. When you switch your profile from public to private then other users cannot click on your following lists.

However, they can still view the number of following lists.

How can I hide my activity from followers on Instagram?

Many people like to hide their activities on Instagram as there are things they do not want everyone to view.

For example, not many people want others to know when they are active on Instagram.

Let’s take a look on how you can hide your activity status on Instagram

How to hide activity status on Instagram?

Follow the steps below to hide activity status on Instagram :

  1. Open your profile
  2. Click on the 3 lines at the top right of the screen

3. Click on Settings

4. Tap activity status and slide it to turn it off

This will allow you to browse on Instagram with others not knowing that you are actually active on the app.

Can I stop seeing someone on Instagram without unfollowing?

Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows you to stop seeing updates from a particular user without having to remove or block them.

You can do this by Muting the person.

When you Mute posts from that user you will no longer see any updates from that user on your newsfeed.

However, you can still go to their profile and view what they have posted.

You can unmute them whenever you would like to view their posts again.

The best thing about this feature is that the person you muted will never know that they have been muted.

How to mute someone on Instagram?
  1. Click on the person’s profile
  2. Click on the 3 red dot at the top of the screen
  3. Click on Mute
  4. You can mute posts, mute story or mute both. Select the option that you want.

FAQ

How to hide who I am following on Instagram?

You cannot hide who you are following on Instagram. By having a private profile, other users can see the number of people you are following but cannot click on the list of followers.

Can I hide activity status on Instagram?

Yes, you can follow the steps above to hide the visibility of your activity status on Instagram. The ‘last active status’ will be removed from the direct messaging feature.

Can celebrities hide who they follow on Instagram?

Unfortunately no, the rules applies to everyone. Even if you are a celebrity or influencer you cannot hide who you follow on Instagram.

Can verified Instagram accounts hide who they follow?

Unfortunately no, even a verified Instagram account cannot hide who they follow on the platform. The only thing everyone can do is restrict their online activities and have better control of their privacy by following the steps above.

Can non-followers see my instagram story?

If you set your profile to public mode then non-followers can view your Instagram stories and posts. If your account is set to private then only specific people who follow you can view your story.

Conclusion

We hope that we have answered your question on how to hide followers on Instagram.

The most important thing to remember is to always keep your account private and be careful about whom you allow to follow your account.

Always remember that your Instagram posts and stories can always be screenshot. Do not share your phone number and any other private information on any social network.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the growth-mindset kit aimed at raising children growing in a tech world. 

How to hide followers on Instagram

Instagram has a wide variety of tools to protect your privacy and protect your privacy. However, some users may lack the functionality provided by the service, which forces them to look for workarounds. In particular, many are interested in how to hide followers on Instagram from other people. Before we analyze a specific sequence of actions, we will try to find out whether such a possibility exists at all.

Is it possible to hide followers on Instagram? The developers simply did not provide for this direct method, since the concept of this social network itself implies the openness and availability of user accounts.

However, the absence of a special tool does not mean at all that it is impossible to hide subscribers. In this case, it is advisable to use one of the alternative methods. But it is worth considering that each of these methods has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

Enabling privacy

The first method involves enabling the private mode of the account, in which all subscribers in the profile will be securely hidden from Instagram users. Thus, it will be possible to maintain confidentiality and ensure personal protection.

Workflow:

  1. Open the Instagram app and log into your profile.
  2. Click on the menu icon, which looks like three dots or parallel horizontal lines.
  3. In the menu that appears, select "Settings".
  4. Go to the "Privacy" section.
  5. In the "Account Privacy" tab, activate the "Closed Account" function. To do this, simply move the slider next to the desired item.
  6. Press the OK button to confirm the actions in the profile and save the changes.

After that, the account will become closed, which implies no access to photos, personal data, subscriptions and followers from other profiles. Only those users who, at the time of closing the account, were already subscribed to its owner will be able to see hidden followers on Instagram.

A subscription will be required to access all data on a closed page. At the same time, the account owner is obliged to independently manually approve each application. So this method will not be convenient for everyone.

Block users from friends

Sometimes Instagram users need to block their list of followers from specific people. The easiest way to do this is with the help of the blocking function built into the program. Thus, you can hide your data from a person simply by blacklisting him. After that, the user will not be able to view the entries on the page, as well as send messages. The profile will not appear in its search results at all.

Blocking algorithm for a specific user:

  • Log in to the Instagram app.
  • Find an unwanted subscriber's profile and open their page.
  • Click on the button with three dots and select "Block" from the pop-up menu.
  • Review the actions that will become unavailable to the blocked person, and then confirm the action on the page.

This method will allow you to quickly and easily hide your subscribers even from friends with whom you do not want to contact within this social network.

The presented methods are not very convenient, because in addition to simply hiding subscribers, they also impose a lot of restrictions. Perhaps in the future, the developers of the social network will expand the privacy settings and allow you to partially remove data without closing the entire account and using a blacklist.

How to hide who I follow on Instagram

On the advice of your friends, you have finally signed up for Instagram so you can post and share photos and videos with people all over the world. You are satisfied with your choice and in order to increase the number of subscribers, you yourself began to subscribe to different people. Subsequently, however, in an effort to maintain your privacy, you became concerned that other users might see the names of people you follow.

If this is the case and you are looking for the answer to the question, how to hide your following on Instagram ? You will be happy to know that in the following chapters of this guide, I will show you in detail what solutions you can use to do this, through the official social network app for Android and iOS, as well as from the web and through the Instagram app for Windows 10.

Before than to explain how to hide who you follow on Instagram , I have to give you a very important preliminary information. You should be aware that in the current state of things, there is no special feature that allows you to hide the people you follow. Don't worry : you can still succeed in your design by taking two alternative solutions: make your account private or block users for whom you want to make your data and content inaccessible.

Activating private mode for your profile means that all the contents of your account (published photos and videos, as well as the names of people you follow and who follow you) can be viewed only your current subscribers or those you approve as new subscribers.

However, if you decide to block an individual on Instagram , not only will they no longer be able to see who you follow on the social network, but they will also no longer be able to find your account, view your profile and everything related to you , including your photos, videos and comments.

The choice of solution is up to you, your needs and preferences. In any case, do not worry: both options are completely reversible operations.

Activate Instagram private profile mode

After reviewing the prerequisites, the following lines will show you how to boost your profile details through the Instagram app for Android or iOS, as well as through the web and the Windows 10 app.

Android and iOS

To make your profile private using the Instagram app for Android or iOS, you must first launch the respective app and access your account.

After that, click on the little man icon (or profile thumbnail ) located in the lower right corner to go to your profile section. Then press the button Menu (three horizontal bars) located in the upper right corner and press the item Settings at the bottom of the menu.

Then go to item Privacy → Account privacy , and then activate the toggle switch located opposite entry Closed account to confirm the operation.

If necessary, you can return to the Instagram section you just indicated and move the switch that you will find in the “My Account” item to the “OFF” position so that your profile becomes public again.

PC activation

If you want to make your Instagram account private, you can also do it from the Internet or using the Windows 10 app. The procedures to be followed are the same in both cases.

To get started, connect to a well-known photography social network by logging into your account from the official website or launching the Windows 10 app from the icon located in the Start menu.

Then click your profile thumbnail located in the upper right corner to access your profile screen, click the button with the gear icon and in the menu that appears, click on "Privacy and Security". Finally tick Closed account .

If you later decide to deactivate the privatization of your profile, uncheck the box and confirm the privacy changes by clicking OK.

Block someone on Instagram

Are you considering blocking someone on Instagram to hide your profile and all information about you? In that case, follow the instructions I'll provide you with in the following paragraphs and you'll learn how to do it with the Android, iOS app, or with the web version of Instagram and the Windows 10 app.0003

Block on Instagram via Android and iOS

Do you want to hide the list of people you follow and the rest of your Instagram content for a specific user? In this case, to do so through the Instagram app for Android or iOS, you must first launch it and access your account.

Once this is done, identify the profile of the person you want to block by clicking on their name , via Instagram stream or manually through a search engine (magnifying glass icon).

When the corresponding user's profile is displayed, press the ... button located in the upper right corner; then click on the item Lock in the displayed menu and confirm the lock by clicking the Lock button again.

In case of doubt, you can access the section dedicated to the list of blocked users to reverse the action. To do this, click on the icon man located at the bottom and press the menu button located at the top right.

Now in the displayed menu, click Settings , then go to Privacy → Blocked Accounts to find the list of blocked users.

To unblock a user, press his name and confirm the procedure by double-clicking the Unblock button.

Learn more