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How to keep who you follow on instagram private


How to hide who you follow on Instagram- Can I hide my followers?

We know who you follow can create unnecessary drama. Let's see how to hide who you follow on Instagram using these steps!

Who isn't on Instagram? From your neighbour next door to your friend who lives miles away, almost everyone uses it. But there are a lot more people than that. And who you follow on Instagram can be a source of unnecessary drama. For instance, your friend might argue with you for following someone they don't like.

Another prime concern can be that of privacy. Instagram has blurred the lines of what’s private and what’s not. Instagram gives other people insight into your interests, relationships, and the content you view. Therefore, you must take some precautions.


In a weird turn of events, other Instagram users could potentially use this information against you. So, it’s always best to protect your privacy as much as possible.

Therefore, we’re going to discuss multiple ways how you can hide who you follow on Instagram!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Can you hide followers on Instagram?
  2. How to hide who you follow on Instagram for business accounts?
  3. How to hide who you follow on Instagram for private accounts?
  4. How to hide who you follow on Instagram- Hide from current followers?
  5. How to hide who you follow on Instagram- Limit visibility
  6. FAQ- How to hide who you follow on Instagram

Can you hide followers on Instagram?

The question people often ask is how to hide who you follow on Instagram? Unfortunately, for Instagram users, this 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. However, there are other things you can tweak with to choose who sees what.


How to hide who you follow on Instagram for business accounts?

Regardless of which account you use, you cannot hide followers & following lists on Instagram. So, even for a business account, the number of followers remains visible to everyone on the platform.

Instagram has rolled out a bunch of features so far but nothing on this. Therefore, you can't do anything about this problem. We are still waiting for Instagram to add more privacy-related features.


How to hide who you follow on Instagram for private accounts?

Many people don’t consider keeping their social media account private. Apart from celebrities and influencers, everyone should keep their profile private. You never know how others may use your photos or post. On a private account people who don't follow you, cannot view your details.

However, when using a public profile this is visible to all. Even on a private account your followers and following list remain visible. But only those who follow you can see it. The rest can just see the numbers. On the other hand, on a public account, anyone can see both.

The reason why social media platforms want the number of followers to remain visible is that this is why they exist. Social media apps are driven by the number of followers a user has on its account.

People are obsessed with the number of followers. This 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 now added the feature to hide likes. This has been done owing to the concern over the digital well-being of users. But nothing has been done further in this domain.


How to hide who you follow on Instagram- Hide from current followers?

Unfortunately, you can’t do this either! Then, what can you actually restrict? Don't worry we'll discuss this in a while.

The actual numbers represent your following and following. They 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. But there may be a to hide who you follow.

It does make sense though. As said before numbers drive social media. It would be counterintuitive to their business if you could just hide the Following and Followers list on Instagram. You would leave everyone to speculate. But there are things you can do to manage who sees what in your account.

Let's see what things you can restrict!


How to hide who you follow on Instagram- Limit visibility

Maybe in the future, Instagram might allow users to hide followers. But we don’t see that happening any time soon. However, you can control your visibility on the platform and what people can see on your profile.

Here are some routes you can take to limit visibility on your Instagram account:

1. Restrict a user’s account

2. Switch to private mode

3. Block / Remove user

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


1. How to restrict accounts on Instagram?

Restricting a person means limiting what a person can view on your profile. When you restrict someone they don't get to know. For instance, a restricted user cannot view when you are active or stories. The user also cannot see your online status or if you have read a message they sent you. Here's how to do this:

  • Step1: Open Instagram.
  • Step 2: Click on your profile icon to enter your profile.

  • Step 3: Click on Settings and then tap Privacy.
  • Step 4: Go to Connections
  • Step 5: Then, Hit Restricted Accounts.

  • Step 6: Add the name of the user you want to restrict and press "Restrict".

If you ever decide to unrestrict them then follow the same steps as above!


2. 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 still cannot hide the number of followers. But you can hide who is following you and who you follow.

This is how you can do it:

  • Step 1: Open the Instagram app.
  • Step 2: Click on your profile. Next, click on the 3 horizontal lines at the top right corner of the screen.
  • Step 3: Go to Settings.

  • Step 4: Tap Privacy Settings and Account Privacy

  • Step 5: Here, select Private Account

Once you switch to a private account, anyone who wants to follow you must seek your permission.

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


3. 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 :

  • Step 1: Click on the profile you want to block
  • Step 2: Go to the 3 dots on the top of their profile page

  • Step 3: Press Block and hit "Yes I am sure”.

How to remove followers on Instagram?

Blocking someone is extreme. Instead, you can remove the user. Even this is easy! When you remove them, they will not be notified. In place of this, when they click on your profile only then they will know. Also, they will need your permission to view your profile again.

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

You can easily do this by going to your Followers' list. Just search the username and press "Remove" next to their name!

If you've tried to follow someone recently but couldn't, click here to see the fix.


FAQ- How to hide who you follow on Instagram

Well, we have so far discussed the topic of how to hide who you follow on Instagram. Let's dive and see other doubts on this issue!


Can I hide my activity status on Instagram?

Yes, you can and without further ado, we'll tell you how!

  • Step 1: Open your profile.
  • Step 2: Click on the 3 lines at the top right corner of your screen
  • Step :3 Click on Settings
  • Step 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 introduced a new feature that lets you stop updates from a particular user without having to remove or block them. All you have to do is mute them. 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.


Can I hide my Instagram from my phone’s contacts?

This setting is quite simple to activate but has nothing to do with Instagram settings. In your phone’s settings, scroll to applications and locate Instagram.

From there, turn off contact accessibility, and the permission will be removed from the application. Additionally, no one from your contacts list will be able to find you using your contact information.

That's all on how to hide who you follow on Instagram, but keep reading for more!

How To Hide Who You Follow On Instagram? [The Best 2022 Solutions]

Page Contents

Privacy is one of the most critical points while using social media applications. At some point during your social media experience, you have all wondered how to hide who you follow on Instagram or make Instagram live comments disappear!

After all, we’ve all been there with the jealous ex or the nosy cousin who keeps asking questions. It’s completely natural if you don’t want to share your following list with everyone and search for how to hide following on IG. 

Unlike Facebook, Instagram has not dedicated a particular field to your lists’ privacy. However, there are still ways to hide your followers and followings on Instagram.

You try so much to boost followers using followers apps like AiGrow. But, your social relations are one thing that you always want to keep private, whether from your family members or random by-passers. And it is honestly easier to learn how to hide who you follow on Instagram than politely convince others that they shouldn’t ask questions!

This article will show you a few ways to brace yourself and your following list against the stalkers on Instagram.

So if you want the answer to ‘Can you hide who you follow on Instagram?‘, keep reading this article!

🔥Note: If you are looking for the best third-party app to control the visibility of your following list on Instagram, our top recommendation is to use AiSchedul. For more information concerning this incredible Instagram monitoring tool, stay tuned.  

How to Hide Who You Follow on Instagram

When people click on your Instagram profile, they can see the number of your followers and followings, even on a private account. Despite the fact that you can not hide the numbers, you can control or limit the visibility of your Instagram account.  

Would you like to know how to hide who you follow on Instagram? Although there is no direct way to do so, there are a few simple methods to protect yourself against unwelcome visitors.

Here we are going to explain a few tips on how to hide following on Instagram.

#1 Make Your Account Private 

If you run an Instagram business profile or your account is public, it’s nearly impossible to hide your activities and following on Instagram. That is, if you’re an Instagram influencer or a business owner growing a brand on Instagram, you can’t use this method to hide people you follow on Instagram! 

Otherwise, you can switch to a private account following these steps:

  • First, log in to your Instagram account.
  • Then, click on the icon on the right bottom of your IG application.
  • Tap on the three parallel lines at the top right of your profile and open your Settings.
  • Now, go to the ‘Privacy’ section.
  •  Select privacy (How to hide following on IG)
  • Finally, switch the Private account button on.
Switch to a Private Account (Hide Who You Follow on Instagram)

Your Instagram account is now protected and private! So, following the steps above is the answer for those of you who ask questions on how to hide your Instagram account information like the lists and posts! 

After it’s over, none other than your followers will be able to access your lists or your posts! In other words, even on private accounts, your followers can see your follower and following list. But the rest can only see the numbers. 

🔶So, you can’t hide who you follow from your followers other than either restricting, removing, or blocking them. Keep reading to learn how to hide your following on Instagram from existing followers.  

#2 Remove Followers to Hide Who You Follow on Instagram

So you have switched to a private account. Can people see who you follow on Instagram? Well, once you accept a follow request on Instagram, the new followers will appear in your list and can access it too!

Unfortunately, there is no Instagram feature for hiding your Instagram posts or follower list from your followers! So, if you want to know how to hide who you follow on Instagram from someone in your followers’ list, you have limited options. 

But if you insist on doing so and find someone particularly untrustworthy or nosy, you can remove them from your followers.

For removing followers, you can go through the steps below: 

  • First off, tap your profile in the right bottom corner of your IG app.
  • Go to your following list and search for the person you’d like to hide your profile from.
  • Click on the ‘Remove’ button in front of their username.

Once you do this and switch to a private account, that person will no longer see your lists or posts on Instagram.  

Now you know how to hide your followers on Instagram from a specific person!

💡Tip: It is okey to limit your followers on Instagram. You don’t have to follow everyone who follows you.

#3 Block Users on Instagram to Hide Following

You may ask, ‘Can you hide your followers on Instagram with a public account?’ Many people may want to keep their IG accounts in public mode. For many reasons, however, you may want to know how to hide who you follow on Instagram from specific users. 

To hide who you follow from certain users with a public account on Instagram, you have no other way but to block those accounts. And by taking this action on Instagram, hide following from your blocked contacts. 

So if you wonder how to hide someone on Instagram, take the following instructions and block them:

  • Go to the search tab on your phone application.
  • Then, search for the user you want to hide from.
  • On the top right of your screen, tap on the ‘…’ sign.
  • From the appeared Window, select the ‘Block’ button.

#4 Use an Instagram Monitoring Tool Instead of Following Users

Instagram third-party monitoring applications are excellent choices for controlling your privacy and lists as well as your posts on Instagram. Therefore, you don’t need to seek for ‘Instagram hide following.’

AiSchedul is a handy third-party app that can help you with your account analysis in any aspect. So, regardless of your concerns about account privacy or account growth, you can trust AiSchedul to monitor and manage your account professionally under your supervision.

AiSchedul Features 

From the long list of the AiSchedul outstanding features (As shown in the above image), you can choose to:

  • Run Instagram giveaways,
  • Schedule your posts for the best times to post on Instagram,
  • Repost Instagram content,
  • Share Instagram coupons,

And more. But using this platform, can you hide followers and followings on Instagram?

With the incredible account monitoring tool on AiSchedul, you can add accounts and monitor their activities without following them officially on Instagram. In this way, this efficient tool lets you choose how to hide your following on Instagram. 

This tool will help you in the sense that it prevents you from actually following accounts you don’t want others to know you are tracking. As you are monitoring the content from a third-party service and not following those accounts on Instagram, they will not appear in your follow list. 

After you have signed up to AiSchedul for free, log in to your IG account. You can find the account monitoring tool by taking the following path.

  • Choose your account from your dashboard.
  • Go to the ‘Post and Scheduling’ tab.
  • Open the ‘listening and repost’ section.
  • Click on the ‘account monitoring’ button.
 AiSchedul (Hide Following Instagram)

Once you are there, you can:

  • Manage your posts, followings and followers lists, and even more,
  • Get an analysis of your hashtags and their impact on your account growth!

So, sign up for free right now and give it a try!

#5. Restrict a User’s Account to Hide Following List On Instagram  

Another viable answer to “How can you hide who you follow on Instagram?” is to restrict someone’s account. By restricting a user’s account, you limit what they can view on your profile. For example, a restricted user cannot view your stories or know when you are online. Additionally, if you restrict someone, they won’t know.

Here is how to restrict a users account which will allow you to hide people you follow on Instagram: 

  • Enter your Instagram profile. 
  • Tap on Settings and then Privacy  
  • Next, go to Connections 
  • Hit ‘Restricted Accounts’ 
  • Choose the user you want to restrict and press “Restrict“.

FAQs about How to Hide Who You Follow on Instagram

Now that you have learned how to hide following on Instagram, there are still a few frequently asked questions about other privacy issues on Instagram. This section will answer some critical questions, so keep reading to better know how to protect your privacy as much as possible. 

#1 How to Hide My Following List on Instagram from My Followers?

As explained earlier, there’s no definitive way to know how to hide your following from your followers on Instagram. You have to either remove, block or restrict your followers to hide following list form followers on private Instagram account.  

But, keep in mind that you can use AiSchedul to analyze and observe an IG account without following it! This platform can solve this whole problem for you!

#2 What Can I Do If I Don’t Want My Contacts to Find Me on Instagram?

To do this, you have to cut permission from those who have your number saved on their phones.

To hide your Instagram account from those people:

  • Go to your phone’s setting and in your applications, find Instagram.
  • Then turn off the access to contacts permission to the application.

#3 How to Hide a Story from Someone Who Doesn’t Follow You on Instagram?

As you know, you can see who viewed your Instagram stories. So far, you know how to hide who you follow on Instagram. Now, let’s learn how to hide your stories from someone on Instagram! 

If you want to hide your stories from random profile viewers on IG, you have to switch to a private account, as instructed before. But, if you insist on running a public or business account, you simply can’t do that.

Once you have a private account, there are two ways to hide your stories from specific followers. The first way is to create a close friend list, and the second way is to hide your stories from the followers you don’t want to share your stories with. 

To hide your stories from specific users, you should: 

  • Go to your profile feed on Instagram.
  • Choose the three horizontal lines in the top right corner, and select ‘Settings.’
  • Then, choose ‘Privacy’ and select ‘Story.’
  • Now, tap on the number below ‘Hide Story From.’
  • Finally, select the users you don’t want to share your stories with!
How to Hide Story from Who You Follow on Instagram

#4 How Can I Prevent Someone From Sending Me Direct Messages on Instagram?

One of the most efficient ways to protect your privacy on Instagram and especially manage your direct messages is to restrict your disturbing users.

In that case, they won’t send you direct messages, and Instagram restricts their activities and interactions with you.

To restrict a user, you can follow the same path as when you block them. Go to their profile, and from the menu on the top right of the screen, choose ‘restrict.’

#5 How to Hide Someone’s Comments on Instagram?

Of course, you can delete a comment on Instagram or block the person who has commented on your post. But if you don’t want them to find out, you can simply restrict them as explained in the last question.

 #6 How to Turn Off Active Status on Instagram?

If you wonder how to hide activity status on Instagram, just follow the steps below: 

  • Go to your profile and click on the 3 lines at the top right corner of your page. 
  • Tap on Settings
  • Then, tap on activity status and turn it off. 

Now, you can scroll on Instagram without others knowing that you are active on it.  

#7 Why Does Not Instagram Make It Easy to Hide Who You Follow on Instagram? 

As of now, Instagram has rolled out several features, but nothing on how to hide who you follow on Instagram. For example, it is possible to hide likes on Instagram. According to Instagram, this new feature of turning off likes has been done for the well-being of IG users on the app. 

The question is, why Instagram is hesitant to take drastic measures on how to hide following on IG? The reason why it wants the number of followers to remain visible is that the app is primarily driven by the number of followers a user has on its account. So, their business would be adversely affected if you can easily hide following list on Instagram. 

 Note: Instagram is always testing out new features. So, perhaps someday, it may introduce a feature on how to hide who you follow on Instagram.

Final Words on How to Hide Who You Follow on Instagram

If you are concerned with your privacy like everyone else on Instagram, make sure you know how to hide who you are following on Instagram! 

This way, you can block every loop whole for online abusers and unwelcome accounts. Besides, you can always guarantee your safety by getting professional assistance from safe third-party managers. 

In this post, we discussed how to hide following on Instagram. You can do so by switching to a private mode and removing, blocking, or restricting a user’s account. Additionally, we Introduced AiSchedul, the best Instagram monitoring tool that can provide you with a complete Instagram hide following.  

 So, sign up for free and give AiSchedul a try now. 

Please re-read the article to see how to hide who you follow on Instagram. And if you have any problems with the means we have explained above, feel free to leave us a comment below. We are more than willing to address your questions and help you with your concerns!

Instagram: privacy and security settings

Social network accounts, especially popular ones, are a tasty morsel for attackers. And it is easiest to hack what is poorly protected. Therefore, we regularly remind you that it is worth taking care of the security of your accounts, as far as social networks allow it.

  • Set up privacy and security for your Instagram account
    • The most important security settings on Instagram
      • How to change your Instagram password
      • How to set up two-factor authentication on Instagram
      • How to check in the app if you received a real email from Instagram
      • Where to find the list of apps connected to Instagram
    • The most important privacy settings on Instagram
      • How to close your Instagram account and edit your followers list
      • How to control who sees your Instagram stories
      • How to get rid of spam comments on Instagram
      • How to get rid of spam in direct and adding to the left groups on Instagram
      • How to hide your online status on Instagram
      • How to block or restrict a user from your Instagram
      • How to remove unnecessary push notifications in the Instagram app
  • Do not forget to set up security in other social networks

Unfortunately, security and privacy settings are often difficult to understand. Moreover, developers change them from time to time. For example, Instagram settings have recently been updated. We tell you what is useful in them and where to look for this useful.

Setting up account security on Instagram

New Instagram settings allow you to even more securely protect against unauthorized account login and identity theft.

To find your security settings:

  • Open your profile.
  • Click on the three bars in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Select Settings .
  • Go to section Security .

Where to find the security settings in the Instagram app

The password is the head of everything

The first rule of security for any account is to set a good, long, unique password. Attackers will not be able to quickly pick it up and will not find it in the databases that they managed to steal from other sites, which means they will not be able to hack into your account. At least, if you do not give out your password yourself or it does not leak from the social network itself.

How to set up two-factor authentication on Instagram

Turn on two-factor authentication to ensure that your password is leaked. Every time someone tries to log in on a new device on your behalf, the social network will request a one-time code from SMS or from a special application. Thus, you will always be aware of login attempts, and it will be impossible to hack your account without knowing the code.

To enable two-factor authentication:

  • Select Two-factor authentication .
  • Press Start .
  • Choose how you want to receive codes: via SMS or two-factor authentication app .

How to set up two-factor authentication in the Instagram app

An added bonus - after enabling this feature, the social network will give you backup codes . They will help you log into your profile if you don’t have a phone at hand that should receive SMS or on which an application for generating one-time codes is installed (yes, you can do this too - see this post for more details). Write down the backup codes and keep in a safe place.

How to check in the app if you received a real email from Instagram

Instagram developers figured out how to protect their users from phishing via email. Now in the application settings you can see what letters the social network has sent you over the past two weeks. If you received a letter supposedly from Instagram, but it is not in the application, you can safely send it to spam.

To see which social media notifications are real:

  • Select Emails from Instagram .
  • Look for the letter you are interested in under the Security tab if it concerns login attempts, suspicious activity from your account, and so on. If it's about something else, check if it's on the tab Other .

How to check in the app if you received a real email from Instagram

Where to find a list of apps connected to Instagram

Another source of danger is third-party sites and apps. They are connected to expand the capabilities of the social network, for example, add photo filters or convenient marketing tools. However, if such an application is hacked or its authors are dishonest, your account can be used for criminal purposes. You can view the list of connected applications and sites and remove everything superfluous in the same section Security , in block Applications and websites .

Where can I find the list of apps connected to Instagram

Setting up Instagram privacy?

Instagram allows you not only to keep your profile safe, but also to restrict access to your photos, videos, stories and other data. You can hide personal content from prying eyes, save yourself and friends from offensive comments, and prevent subscribers from sharing your stories and posts with others. For this:

  • Open your profile.
  • Click on the three bars in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Select Settings .
  • Go to section Privacy .

Where to find the privacy settings in the Instagram app

How to close your Instagram account

If Instagram is not a promotion site for you, but a place to share pictures and videos with friends, you can make your account private:

  • Open Account privacy .
  • Enable Closed account .

How to close your Instagram account

Now only followers you have approved will see your posts and stories. True, there are some nuances. Firstly, everyone who managed to subscribe to you before is automatically considered approved by the social network. If you do not agree with it, then you need to do this:

  • Section Privacy select Accounts you follow .
  • On the Followers tab, find and remove those you don't want to show your posts and stories to.

How to edit your Instagram followers list

Secondly, if you repost an Instagram photo to another social network, it will be seen by everyone who can see your posts on that social network. So if you do this often, don't forget to set up privacy on other social networks as well.

How to control who sees your Instagram stories

If you are an insta-blogger and it is not convenient for you to close your account, you can control access to specific content. For example, Instagram allows you to hide stories from individual users, publish some of them only to your list of close friends, and limit or even turn off the ability to respond to them. All this is done in section Privacy in block History . There you can also prevent readers from sharing your stories in messages and showing your posts in their stories.

How to control who sees your Instagram stories

To protect yourself and your followers from abuse and spam, you can automatically hide inappropriate comments using Instagram filters or your own. You can configure this in section Privacy , in block Comments . There you can also prevent especially gifted spammers from commenting on your photos and videos.

How to get rid of spam comments on Instagram

How to get rid of direct spam on Instagram

The social network allows you to prevent outsiders from writing you private messages and adding you to groups. If you are annoyed by spam in direct or you think that messages are your private space, open in section Privacy block Messages and select Only people you follow for both items.

How to get rid of spam in direct and adding to the left groups on Instagram

How to hide your online status on Instagram

If you don't want your readers to know when you're online, you can hide your online status from them. To do this, select in section Privacy item Network status and deactivate the switch. True, after that you will also not be able to see information about the activity of other users.

How to hide your online status on Instagram

How to hide from specific users on Instagram

Finally, spammers and other annoying readers can be blocked or restricted from accessing your account. To do this, click on the objectionable profile three dots in the upper right corner and select Block or Restrict access .

How to block or restrict someone from accessing your Instagram

Restricted account holders will still be able to view your photos and videos and even leave comments on them, but only you and the author will see these comments.

You can also put the user in silent mode if you are tired of his stories and posts in the feed. This can also be done in his profile:

  • Click the button Subscriptions .
  • Select Switch to silent mode .
  • Enable mute mode for Stories , Posts or both.

Setting the Instagram user to silent mode

Your friend will not know anything about it, and you can take a break from the flurry of his photos and look at them only when you are in the mood - his profile will remain visible to you.

How to remove unnecessary push notifications in the Instagram app

Instagram, like any social network, by default sends more notifications than you need. To avoid annoying pop-up notifications that one of your friends has posted a photo for the first time in a long time, you can turn them off. To do this:

  • Open your profile.
  • Click on the three bars in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Select Settings .
  • Go to section Notices .
  • Go through the list of push notifications and turn them off for any events you don't want to know about right away. If you don't want to be notified at all, for example when you're playing or watching a series, select Pause all and set how long Instagram will remain silent.

How to remove unnecessary push notifications in the Instagram app

Now you know how to protect your Instagram account and can customize it the way you want. It's time to remember about your accounts in other social networks. Here's what the security and privacy settings look like on Vkontakte, Facebook, Odnoklassniki, and Twitter.

Privacy on Instagram. How to maintain privacy where it is practically impossible

Hide your posts and stories from prying eyes.

Your profile on Instagram probably contains more personal information about you than any other page on the social network. The number of people following your stories and posts can be really intimidating.

If you still decide to use Instagram, then you can't hide from the eyes of Facebook, but you can try from curious strangers.

Hide your private life on Instagram is easy enough: change your profile type to private . However, there are a number of additional options to help you stay private. You can even keep your account open by tweaking your profile settings a bit.

Sit back and get ready to explore useful options in your Instagram privacy settings.

Make your account private

Surely the first thing that comes to mind. A closed account is the easiest way make your profile private . Be sure that after changing the page type, no one else will be able to view your posts and stories. Of course, if you do not allow it to be done.

Once your account is closed, users who visit your page for the first time will only see your name and profile picture. They will also be able to submit a request to follow you. Only after you confirm this request, new followers will see your photos, videos and stories.

To make your account private:

  • Go to Instagram settings menu . It is hidden on your profile page in the upper right corner. Click on the gear at the very bottom to open the settings.
  • Next, follow the path: " Privacy > Account Privacy " and enable the option " Closed account ".

An important point: anyone who is already following you at the moment you change your account type to private will still be able to follow you. This means that if you want to block access to information about you to a certain person, you need to remove him from your list of subscribers.

To remove a specific person from your followers:

  • Go to your profile and open your followers page.
  • Scroll through the list and click on the " Delete " button next to the name of the subscriber you want to get rid of.

Protect your Stories

Instagram allows you to limit the number of people who can see your stories, as well as prevent users from sharing them with others.

To hide your stories from specific people:

  • Go to the following path: " Settings > Privacy > History".
  • Select the option " Hide stories from ". Next, you will see a list of your subscribers - mark those users who will no longer be able to view your stories by selecting their accounts by clicking on the circle next to the profile name.

You can also prevent people from sharing your stories with others:

  • Follow the same path (" Settings > Privacy > History "). Scroll to the very bottom where you will find a section called " Reposts ".
  • You will see an option labeled " Allow sharing ". Disabling this feature will prevent users from sharing your stories with others.
  • You can also turn off the " Allow reposts in stories" setting to prevent people from adding your posts to their stories.
  • To stop sharing your stories on Facebook, turn off the " Share my story on Facebook .” Your stories will be available exclusively on your Instagram page.

Alternatively, you can use Instagram's " Close Friends " feature to allow only specific people to view your story:

  • Settings > Privacy > History ".
  • Section Close friends » start adding people who will see your specific stories.

Blocking users

When you want to hide photos and videos posted on your page, you have to act more drastically than in the case of stories.

If you don't want to make your account private, you can block individual users:

  • To block a person, you first need to go to their Instagram profile. At the top of the page, click on the three vertical dots.
  • Select the option " Block ".

Note : You can also restrict access to a specific user in the same menu. If you do this, they will still be able to view your posts and photos, but the person's comments will only be visible to you. Moreover, the chat with this user will be moved to chat requests, so he will not be able to understand if you have read his message.

Make your account less visible to others

There are several ways to make your account harder to find.

First, you can prevent your phone from sharing contacts with Instagram. Usually, the application asks you to provide access to the phone book to help you find friends when you sign up for a social network. However, this also means that Instagram knows what numbers your contacts have.

To prevent Instagram from viewing your phonebook:

  • Go to the following path: " Settings > Account > Contact sync ".
  • Deactivate the " Connect contacts " function.

You can also prevent Instagram from recommending your account to other users . This often happens if a person monitors the emergence of new users on a social network. Instagram recommends accounts that are similar to each other or have a large number of joint followings. This feature cannot be disabled in the mobile app. To do this:

  • Go to the Instagram website and sign in to your profile.
  • Click on the button " Edit Profile ".
  • Uncheck " Recommend your account to potential followers".

Finally, it's worth checking if one of your posts can be found in Google search. Instagram doesn't allow Google to show your photos by default, but if you've ever logged in to sites using the credentials of a page of this social network, it's possible that information about you is quite easy to find on the Internet.

If one or more of your posts do show up in searches, you need to prevent third-party apps from accessing your account. You can do this by opening the mobile app:

  • Navigate to the following path: " Settings > Security > Apps & Sites > Active "
  • Remove all apps from the list that you no longer use.

Prevent users from tracking your activity

You can also prevent other users from following your activity on Instagram.

Turn off your online status so people can't see when you're online. Keep in mind that if you turn off this feature, you yourself will not be able to see when other users are online.

  • Go to the following path: " Settings > Privacy > Network Status ".
  • Disable the function " Show network status ".

You can view your tagged photos and videos before they appear on your profile. If you have a public account, checking and verifying each tag will prevent spammers from attacking your profile. If you have a private account, it will help save your reputation if one of your friends posts a provocative photo and tags you. To take control of photos you've been tagged in:

  • Go to the following path: " Settings > Privacy > Tags".
  • Enable the function " Approve labels manually ".

Stop saving your published posts and stories

You may no longer want to save the photos and videos you post on Instagram (especially Stories). There are several settings to help you do this:

  • Navigate to the following path: " Settings > Privacy > History".
  • Disable two options: the first is “ Save to gallery ” (Instagram saves your stories to your phone), the second is “ Save stories to archive ” (Instagram saves your stories in a separate menu in the app).

If you don't want to save your published posts either:

  • Go to the following path: " Settings > Account > Original Posts ".
  • Disable all three options (" Keep original publications", "Keep published photos" and "Keep published videos ").

This will prevent photos and videos from being stored locally on your phone, their only copy will be on Instagram.

Turn off personalized ads

Your Instagram ads depend on the websites you visit and the apps you use. If you want to prevent personalized ads from showing, you will have to go to Facebook: