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How to hide instagram account from contacts


How to Prevent People Who Have Your Contact Information from Finding Your Instagram Account « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks

  • Social Media
  • Instagram 101

Sharing your personal information can come up for any number of reasons: you may want to get in touch with a colleague after work or you've been involved in a car accident and need to stay in contact with the other driver. Unfortunately, giving out information can be the key for others to find your social media accounts, such as Instagram, whether you want it to happen or not.

Anyone with your phone number saved in their contacts or who has added you on Facebook can find your Instagram account — especially if they're intent on stalking you. All they have to do is go to their Instagram account and go to their Find Friends page. Inside they'll find every account associated with the phone numbers saved in their contacts, which could mean your account. If you want to maintain your profile privacy, here are a few tips you should follow.

Step 1: Remove Your Phone Number from Instagram

The first and most important tip is to remove your phone number from your Instagram account. When you create an account, you're asked to insert a phone number as a means to add contacts from your phone on Instagram. By removing your phone number from your Instagram account, you stop your account from appearing in the Find Friends section, under Contacts. However, before you can remove your phone number from Instagram, you must 1) have a verified email attached to your account and 2) not have two-factor authentication enabled.

To add a verified email to your Instagram tap on your profile icon in the bottom-right, go to "Edit Profile" and add an email under Private Information. You'll then be sent an email to verify your account.

Next, you must disable phone number-based two-factor authentication (2FA), if it's enabled. If it's already disabled, skip the next paragraph and pick back up with the phone number removal instructions.

To disable 2FA on your Instagram profile, tap your profile icon in the bottom-right, hit the three-dash menu, tap on "Settings," go to "Privacy and Security," and tap on "Two-Factor Authentication" (if you don't see this option, 2FA is already disabled). Once in the Two-Factor Authentication menu, tap on the toggle next to "Text Message" to disable it. You can leave the "Authentication App" toggle enabled if you'd like to continue using 2FA with apps like Google Authenticator and Authy.

Now you can remove your phone number. To do this, tap on your profile icon in the bottom-right, tap on "Edit Profile," and remove your phone number under Private Information.

Once your phone number is removed, your account should no longer show up under Contacts in the Find Friends section on other people's phones. In the screenshots below, you can see the Instagram account appears under Contacts when the phone number is linked (left) and it's gone when the phone number is removed (right).

Step 2: Unlink Your Facebook from Instagram

In addition to your phone number, if someone has you added on Facebook, they can find your Instagram account under Follow Facebook Friends.

If you want to remove your Instagram profile from appearing under Follow Facebook Friends on other people's Instagram accounts, you must go to your Instagram profile, tap on the three-dash menu, hit "Settings," tap on "Account," and finally on "Linked Accounts. " Under Linked Accounts you'll see a number of accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Tap on "Facebook" and hit "Unlink Account" to remove your Facebook account from Instagram. You will no longer show up under the Follow Facebook Friends setting on Instagram in anyone's phone that may have you added on Facebook.

Although Twitter and the other apps under Linked Accounts do not share their contact information with Instagram, you might want to unlink every account just in case.

Step 3: Disable Similar Account Suggestions

Your final step in preventing your contacts from finding your Instagram account is to disable Similar Account Suggestions. When someone follows an Instagram profile, they'll see suggestions of similar profiles they might also want to follow, such as mutual friends or other people they might possibly know. One of the profiles that shows up could be yours, but fortunately you can easily disable this feature.

Strangely enough, you can't access this feature from the Instagram app on your smartphone. Instead, you have to log into your Instagram account on a web browser, either on your phone, tablet, or computer. Once you're logged in go to your profile and either tap or click on "Edit Profile." At the bottom of the page, you'll see Similar Account Suggestions. Uncheck the box and you will no longer appear as a suggestion on someone else's profile.

Step 4: Other Tips

If you want to make your Instagram profile even harder to find, here are a few simple tips that could help:

  • Make your account private.
  • Don't show your face in your profile photo.
  • Remove your name, website, and bio, all of which could point to the account being yours.
  • Use an anonymous email. Although users can't find you using just your email address, this could change in the future.
  • Block users as a countermeasure.

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How to Hide Instagram Account and Prevent Other Users from Finding You

By default the images you share on your Instagram profile can be viewed by virtually anyone that signed up with an account on the app. If you’d rather stay under the radar instead, there are a few things you can do to hide your Instagram account and prevent your contacts and other people from finding you on the social network.

For example, by removing specific information, even if someone has your phone number, they won’t be able to find you on Instagram. Follow along with this guide, as we detail additional options that will help you stay hidden from prying eyes.

Content
  • Remove Your Facebook Account From Instagram
  • Make Your Account Private
  • Remove Your Phone Number from Instagram
  • Turn Contact Syncing Off
  • Prevent Your Friends From Finding You in Similar Accounts
  • Turn Your Online Status Off
  • Temporary Deactivate Your Account
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Remove Your Facebook Account From Instagram

To make sharing easier, Instagram allows you to link your Facebook account to the app (and vice versa.) If you want to prevent people from finding you on Instagram, we advise against it.

Linking the two accounts means both apps will have access to the others’ friend list. So whenever a Facebook friend of yours creates an account on Instagram, your profile will show up as a friend suggestion. Since this is something we want to avoid, go ahead and remove your Facebook connection from Instagram.

  1. Open the Instagram app on your Android device.
  2. Tap on your circular profile icon on the bottom right.
  1. Go to the hamburger menu located in the upper-right corner of your profile and select “Settings” from the menu that pops up.
  1. Scroll down and tap on “Accounts Center” at the bottom.
  1. Tap on “Accounts” under the “Account settings” section.
  1. Press on the “Remove” button next to your Facebook account name.
  1. Instagram will ask you to confirm whether you want to “disable connected experiences for your account.” Tap on the blue “Continue” button.
  1. Confirm your choice by pressing the “Remove” button on the next screen.
  1. You can also do this from Instagram on PC. On your feed page, click on your profile icon in the upper-right corner of the display.
  2. Select “Settings.”
  1. On the left side, scroll down and click on the “Accounts Center” option.
  1. Select “Accounts” on the left and then click on your Facebook account.
  2. Press the “Remove” button next to your Facebook account.

Once you unlink your Facebook account, you will no longer risk appearing as a friend suggestion for any of your Facebook friends joining Instagram.

Make Your Account Private

Setting your account to private is one of the easiest ways to make your profile less visible. Even if someone does eventually find you, they won’t be able to see your posts unless you give them express permission to do so.

  1. You can activate the privacy mode on mobile by heading to “Settings -> Privacy. ”
  1. Then toggle on the “Private account” option at the top.
  1. On PC, go to “Settings -> Privacy and Security” and tick the “Private Account” option.

Remove Your Phone Number from Instagram

Before you go ahead with removing your phone number from Instagram, keep in mind that you won’t be able to have the two-factor authentication feature enabled. You also need to have a verified email address for this to work, since Instagram does require at least one verified way to contact you in case of emergency.

You can disable two-factor-authentication by going to “Settings -> Security -> Two-Factor Authentication” and turning it off from there.

  1. To remove your phone number, tap on the profile icon and select “Edit profile.”
  1. Swipe down to “Personal information settings.”
  1. Delete your phone number from the dedicated field.
  1. On PC, click the “Edit profile” button next to your Instagram profile name.
  1. Scroll down and make sure the “Phone number” section stays empty.

Once your phone number is removed, people who have saved your digits to their mobile won’t be able to find you once they activate “Connect Contacts.”

Speaking of which, you’ve probably used the option yourself back when you were setting up your Instagram account for the first time. Still, if you wish to stay hidden, you should relinquish this functionality. You’ll need to use your mobile device for this.

  1. Go to “Settings -> Account” on your device.
  1. Hit the “Contacts syncing” option.
  1. Disable “Connect contacts” from there.

Prevent Your Friends From Finding You in Similar Accounts

The person you’re trying to hide from can easily find you if they happen to follow an account similar to yours. To prevent this from happening, go to Instagram on your desktop browser. Strangely enough, you won’t be able to turn off this option from your phone or tablet.

  1. Go to your Instagram profile on your PC and hit the “Edit Profile” button, just like we showed you above. Scroll to the bottom, where you’ll see a box you can uncheck that will prevent your account from appearing in any similar account results.
  1. Click on the blue “Submit” button.

From here, it’s also possible to add or remove your phone number, in case you didn’t follow the steps described above.

If you want even more privacy, turning your online status off is a step in the right direction. To hide your online status from others on Instagram for mobile:

  1. Go to “Settings -> Privacy.”
  1. Tap on “Activity Status.”
  1. Toggle off the “Show Activity Status” button. If the button is blue, that means it’s on, and if it’s gray, it’s off.
  1. Alternatively, you can do the same from PC. Just go to “Settings -> Privacy & security” and uncheck the box next to “Show Activity Status” on the right.

Block Certain Accounts

Want to make absolutely sure someone can’t find you no matter what? Block their account if you know their username.

  1. On mobile, simply navigate to their profile and tap on the three-dot menu in the corner of the display.
  1. A pop-up menu will show up from the bottom of the display. Select “Block” from there.
  2. On your PC, find the three-dots next to their Instagram user name and select “Block” from the pop-up window.

Temporary Deactivate Your Account

The only way to be 100% sure someone will never find you is if you erase your account. But since that’s a bit drastic, you can opt instead to temporary disable your account and get some peace of mind.

This means your photos, likes, and comments will be hidden until you decide to log back into the app.

Note: You can only deactivate your account once a week.

To deactivate your account you must use Instagram on a PC or log into your account into a mobile browser.

  1. Go to your profile and press the “Edit profile” button.
  2. Click on the “Temporary deactivate my account” option at the bottom.
  1. Select a reason why you’re deactivating your profile and type your password once again.
  1. Click “Temporary Deactivate Your Account” and then “Yes” to confirm your choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I control who messages me on Instagram?

If you wish to control who you interact with on Instagram via Direct Messages you can. Go to “Settings -> Privacy -> Messages” and set up “Message Requests” for people who follow you and those who don’t. This means Direct messages won’t automatically go to your Instagram Inbox, but will be lodged in a “Request” tab from where you can quickly delete them. Also make sure you tweak the settings for who can add you in “Group chats” and to “Groups” if you don’t want to socialize more than you have to.

How do I remove an Instagram follower?

Go to your profile and tap on “Followers” next to your profile picture. The list of accounts that follow you will become visible. Tap on the “Remove” button next to the account you want to get rid of to delete them from your list. Instagram won’t notify that particular account that you’ve removed it.

If I block an account, can the person behind it still contact/follow me via another account?

Unfortunately, yes. This is why we recommend making your account private, so you can screen any account that wants to follow you and identify any potential shady accounts you don’t want to have in your list.

Image credit: Ibadah Mimpi via Pexels. All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.

Alexandra Arici

Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.

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How to make your contacts not seen your Instagram

#2

#4

#5

#6

Guest

She found you through "Search for pictures in Google . It can be seen that your photo from VK or OK coincided with the instagram one and Google gave you up. You have a very interested relative.

#8

Guest

no need to drive, google image search recognizes only famous/popular pictures, doesn’t find ordinary people from social networks at all

190 2047 15:16

#9

Guest

She found you through a Google image search. It can be seen that your photo from VK or OK coincided with the instagram one and Google gave you up. You have a very interested relative.

yes, Google can't find it. And Yandex with a bang.

#10

#11

9000

Social networks are created for total control over people. This is a dossier for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB. Correspondence between subscribers can also be read, and 100% there are bots that track such words as "kill", "order", "valyn", "bomb" + a bunch of other slang in the correspondence.

#13

guest

She found you through a Google image search. It can be seen that your photo from VK or OK coincided with the instagram one and Google gave you up. You have a very interested relative.

yes, Google can't find it. And Yandex with a bang. and how to do it, did not understand the EU honestly?

#14

Natka

You borrowed money from them and are hiding now? Or will you upload porn videos?

#15

lera


no, she is most likely going to follow someone, but not under her own name. there are such shots. They don’t fill their own, but there are

#16

#17

#18

#19

I'm

Also the same problem. Moreover, I registered an instu on a new email, generally clean. All the same, he shows me to them. restoring the factory settings of the phone and it gives me such acquaintances whose phone numbers I don’t have and they don’t have my number now, although they were once in contacts and I don’t have them on Facebook. It’s strange at all. He seems to be from some pulls out the depths of the phone’s memory. I didn’t find a solution. I also don’t want them to see me 9December 27, 2016 Surely there is a list of contacts on the phone. That's where they will find out

#21

Me


When you install the application, it asks for permission to access your information. Surely there is a list of contacts on the phone. That's where they'll find out

#22

#23

9000

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#26

#27

Tuka

Have you taken money from them and are now hiding? Or will you upload porn videos?

#28

#29

I

is also such a problem. Moreover, I registered Instance for a new email, generally pure. All the same, he shows his acquaintances to them too. Maybe he finds them through the contact list of the phone ... But you know, I changed my phone number, did a factory reset of the phone, and he gives me such acquaintances whose phone numbers I don’t have and they don’t have my number now, although once they were in contacts and I don’t have them on Facebook. It’s strange at all. He seems to be pulling them out of some depths of the phone’s memory. I didn’t find a solution. I also don’t want them to see me

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#30

Nastya

Hello. Had the same problem. I went to the settings (three dots at the top of the account) contact synchronization and turned off this feature. Helped me. I hope it helps you too

#30

Lyanna Stark

I suppose you register there through ***? Or specify the email that was indicated on Facebook before. Or just corresponded with someone who has *** at that address. Get a completely new email, which is not listed anywhere and which none of your friends know, and create an account from it.

#30

Lyanna Stark

I suppose you register there through ***? Or specify the email that was indicated on Facebook before. Or just corresponded with someone who has *** at that address. Get a completely new email, which is not listed anywhere and which none of your friends know, and create an account from it.

#30

#30

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#30

#30

In general, it seems to me that you need to dig deeper than digging deeper . I have a Google account, the phone book is synchronized on it in the cloud, so even if I delete the numbers from the phone, they will still remain in my profile. And if I log into this account on any other smartphone, all contacts will immediately be pulled up. And on android applications are installed through the Playmarket, which is just tied to this Google account. Therefore, you need not only to change your SIM card and email, but also *** download from the market with another Google account, and if you suddenly restart your phone on your old Google account or add this account as an additional one on Instagram to the old one, then again the numbers everyone will pull up. And there is also such a function that in Viber a notification is sent to all friends that your number and your new number have changed. So it’s better not to take risks, only a separate smartphone with a new SIM card and a new email will help here, so that there is not even a hint of your contacts anywhere.

#30

#30

#30

Guest

I did the same. But here is the question. Contacts are not recommended to you. But are your contacts you? Unknown... Maybe someone knows0005

Guest

Buy a SIM card and never call anyone from it. Use it only for registration in social networks. It is advisable to put this SIM card not in a smartphone on android and ios, but on a regular push-button mobile phone, because android and ios can automatically pull contacts from your phone book to social networks. network, if you have the application of this social network installed. networks in a smartphone. She clumsily explained, but whoever needs it will understand. Sincerely, your female paranoid.

#30

Olya

No just for a lover photo I say clearly by those

#30

Ah you . .! Walking or what?

#30

Guest

The only option.

#30

Guest

Just close your profile and do not accept their applications, and if asked, then answer that you are not sitting there, rewind somehow. I do just that, there are also people whom I don’t want to accept as subscribers

How to turn off contacts on Instagram and remove recommendations from your feed

The Instagram application has an option to connect your smartphone phone book. It is automatically activated for all members of the social network and is installed during the next update. As soon as the social network is launched through the application, all contact pages that are already registered become available in the form of a list of possible followers.

It is easy to choose from the general list those who are worth subscribing to. But not all users like the feature. In this case, it is better to disable contacts on Instagram and close the possibility of searching through it.

Contents

  1. Connecting via phone
  2. Finding recommendations
  3. Disabling contacts
  4. Disabling recommendations

Connecting via phone

To do this, follow simple steps:

  1. Go to your account and click on the menu button at the top of the mobile screen.
  2. Then go to the item "Interesting people".
  3. Press the "contacts" button.
  4. In the drop-down menu, find the line "Connect contacts".
  5. Then tap the "Start" and "Allow" tabs.

If the application connects to numbers via a tablet or phone, the user will see a complete list of their contacts who are registered on Instagram. It remains to choose the ones you want to subscribe to.

Important
The option works as desired, the information is kept completely confidential. You can delete or stop their synchronization with Instagram at any time.

After this connection, the social network will periodically update data from the user's phone. All information is securely protected and stored on special servers and cannot be hacked and attacked by hackers.

The owner of the page himself gets the opportunity at any time convenient for him to delete these numbers or stop synchronization with the phone book of the smartphone. When deleting old posts, new ones will also continue to be updated along with the social network. To stop this, the Sync option is disabled.

How recommendations are found

To find interesting pages, you need to go to "search". To do this, click on the button located at the bottom of the phone screen and go further to the search tab.

Synchronization of contacts is needed so that users who have added the phone number associated with the account to their phone book receive a notification that the owner of the number is now on Instagram and a subscription is available for it. This function is especially convenient for business - it is easy to call or write a message to direct with its help.

To do this, the user must scroll down the screen. This will show publications and media files that this social network member is likely to like. Now you need to touch the box on top. Here it will be easy to find people or posts using places of interest, people's names or hashtags.

Disabling contacts

To disable the use of your numbers for subscription, there is a certain algorithm that is performed from the desktop version:

  1. Go to your Instagram page.
  2. Go to the "Settings" section.
  3. Go to the "Privacy and Security" menu.
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  4. Select "Data".
  5. The Manage tab appears.
  6. Select "Delete all".

After that, the Instagram application will not be able to access the numbers stored in the phone's memory.

Disabling recommendations

Recommendations for following on Instagram are links to posts that may be of interest. They appear on the main page or in the search feed, created by the developers in order to make it easier to find friends and people with similar interests. You won't be able to disable them in the mobile app, but this option is available in the desktop version.

You need to go to the main page of the social network from a computer and click on the "Edit profile" link. Then you should uncheck the box next to the “Recommendations of similar accounts” value and save the selected settings. From now on, recommendations on Instagram will no longer appear.

If connecting contacts and recommendations is annoying, it's easy to turn off the functions. But such an account will no longer appear in the recommendations of other users. And in order to subscribe to your friends from real life, you will have to ask them letter by letter for a nickname on the social network or scan an Instagram business card in person (it’s good if you see each other every day, but if you moved to another city or overseas, this is already problematic).

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