How to go private on Instagram.
Looking to go private on Instagram?
The stalkers are everywhere on social media, and whether you know it or not, you may have creeps stalking your photos without saying a word.
But there are many more reasons to why you may want to go private on Instagram…
Your parents, your boss, your enemies, or maybe your ex. Many people tend to share a big part of their lives on social media, and this was something that we didn’t do in the same way before social media’s existence. And just like we wouldn’t call a stranger and let them know about what we had for lunch or what we think about politics, you might not want to share photos and insights into your life with people you don’t know or have no idea who they are.
The good news is that in order to prevent strangers, bosses, friends, exes, and other selected people, you can go private on Instagram. In this article, that’s exactly what I’ll teach you step-by-step.
How to go private on Instagram
Going private on Instagram is fast and simple, and only demands a few steps.
Maybe you’re constantly receiving weird messages from spammers, maybe strangers are commenting and liking your pictures, or maybe you just don’t want anyone except the ones closest to you to see what you’re up to, and that makes sense.
1. Open up Instagram
The only way to go private on Instagram is through the app. In other words, it’s not possible to do it on your browser. As such, you should begin by opening the app. If you don’t have the app yet, you can download it by searching “Instagram” on the App Store or on the Android store.
2. Go to Your Profile
Once you have launched the app, go to your profile by pressing the button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
3. Edit Your Profile Settings
Once you have opened your personal Instagram profile, you should click on the settings button. You’ll find the settings button which is a cog-wheel icon in your profile, right next to ”Edit profile”
4. Activate the Privacy Option
Find the headline that says “Privacy and security”. Right beneath, you’ll find ”Account Privacy”. Tap it.
If your profile is public the toggle switch will appear in gray, meaning that any user can access your pictures. To make your profile private, make the gray button blue by sliding the button to the right or tapping it. Then, click on the top-right part of your screen to confirm you want to make your Instagram account private.
Your profile is now private if you have followed the steps above. No more creepy stalkers or strangers looking at your pictures.
If you can’t find the Private button where you make your profile private in your profile settings, it means that you have converted your account to a so-called business account. If you have a business account, you cannot make your account private, because really, as a business, you want to reach as many people as possible, and having a private Instagram account limits that.
What happens when you go private on Instagram?
Here’s what happens when you go private on Instagram:
First off, all the people who followed you before you made your account private will keep following you. This means that if you don’t want some of the people who followed you from earlier to continue following you, you need to block them. Either, you can block them permanently, which means they won’t be able to find your account or request to follow you, or, my favorite, you can block them and then instantly unblock them again. Doing this will just make them stop following you but leave them unblocked.
Now that you have made your Instagram account private, people now have to request to follow you. This means that you get the power of who you’re going to accept and deny. Your follower requests will show up in your notifications page.
At the same time, having a private profile on Instagram will prevent anyone who isn’t following you from seeing your content. As such, if someone wants to see your posts, they first have to request to follow and then be accepted by you.
Common questions/good to know related to going private on Instagram
Have in mind that just because you go private on Instagram doesn’t mean people who aren’t following you won’t be able to find your account and request to follow you. Furthermore, they will also be able to see your profile, your link in your bio, your profile picture, and your bio description.
Moreover, people who aren’t following you will also be able to send Direct Messages to you.
If a stalker is bothering you with a bunch of messages, going private on Instagram might just not help, and in that case, it is better to just block them.
How to make your Instagram Stories private
Did you know that you can make your Instagram Stories private? More specifically, you can decide who should be able to view your Instagram Stories and who should not.
By default, anyone can view your profile, posts, and Stories on Instagram.
Have in mind that even if your Instagram profile is private, if you share them on another social media platform, these specific posts might be visible to all users, depending on your privacy settings for that social network, of course. People can view it as a standalone post, but if they click on your Instagram username to view your profile, it will just say that your account is private, if they aren’t following you, of course.
This is why it’s worth knowing that if you don’t want people you haven’t accepted to follow you on Instagram to see your Instagram posts on another platform, you’ll be best off just keeping your Instagram posts to Instagram.
What happens if I add a hashtag to my posts with a private account?
If you have your Instagram profile set to private and then include hashtags in your post, your post won’t show up for these specific hashtags to anyone except for the people who are following you. The same goes for if you tag a location.
If you tag other users who aren’t following you will not either make them able to view your profile or posts.
What happens if someone taps the ”follow” button when I am private?
If someone taps the follow button in your profile when your account is private, they won’t be able to follow you. Not until you approve them.
When they tap follow, it will send a notification saying that they have requested to follow you, and then you get to make the decision to whether or not you are going to let them follow you or not.
Can I go private on Instagram through the web?
No. As of now, the only way to go private on Instagram is through the app. Instagram currently doesn’t let its users access their privacy settings from the desktop or mobile web.
What you can do on the web, however, is edit your profile information, change your password and customize your email subscription settings.
Will I lose followers if I make my profile private on Instagram?
No. If you make your profile private on Instagram, you won’t lose any of the followers you have,
These individuals will have full access to your account and everything you post unless you block them.
How often can I switch between public and private Instagram account?
You can switch between private and public account on Instagram as many times you want and as frequently as you want. There are no restrictions.
