How To Make Your Instagram Account Private

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms, letting you create and share interesting photos and videos with family and friends. However, over a billion people can see your profile and posts, and you may not know many of your followers. You can protect yourself from strangers by making your Instagram account private.

Below, we will discuss the benefits of keeping your account private and go over how to make your Instagram account private. If you want to enjoy using the platform without too many risks, keep reading!

Benefits of Keeping Your Instagram Account Private

By default, your Instagram account is visible to the public. However, you can always switch it to private and experience some benefits. For instance, it protects your privacy. Similar to how you use Facebook to stay connected with family and friends, you may be using Instagram to post pictures that you only want to share with the people you know. If you’re a private person who just wants to creatively share photos and videos and get inspired by other Instagram posts, then you will benefit from a private Instagram account.

Also, keeping your Instagram account private keeps you away from stalkers, bashers, and other people with bad intentions. Since you have more control of your account, you can use the platform peacefully.

How To Make Your Instagram Account Private

Learning how to make your Instagram account private is a simple and straightforward process. Just follow the steps that we’re sharing below:

Set Your Instagram Account to Private Using the App

These steps are for people using the iOS or Android app:

1. Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.
2. Tap your profile icon located at the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. Tap the three horizontal lines at the top right corner, and then tap Settings.
4. Tap the Privacy option.
5. Toggle on the Private Account option under Account Privacy.

Set Your Instagram Account to Private Using the Desktop Site

If you’re wondering how to make your Instagram account private using the desktop version of the site, then follow these steps:

1. Go to instagram.com.
2. Click your profile picture located in the top right corner of the page, and choose Settings.
3. Click the Privacy and Security option under Edit Profile.
4. Under Account Privacy, check the box before the Private Account option.

Once your Instagram account is private, users who wish to follow you on the platform need to send a follow request. You can see these requests in the Activity feed, accessed through the heart icon. However, note that all Instagram users can still use Instagram Direct to send you messages. Also, if you share your private Instagram post to another platform, like Facebook, people who can see your Facebook posts will be able to see it.

Control What Users Can See About You

To limit the information that other people can see about you, you can start by disabling your Activity Status. This feature allows other users to see when you are active on Instagram. Simply go to Settings, Privacy, and then Activity Status. Afterward, disable Show Activity Status. Note that disabling your Activity Status means you can’t tell when other Instagram users are online, either.

You can opt to review tagged photos too before they appear on your Instagram profile. Doing so will stop your friends from adding horrible images to your profile. Go to Settings again, Privacy, and Tags. Then, enable the Manually Approve Tags option.

Manage Your Stories

You can also control who can only see or reshare your stories on Instagram. Simply go to Settings, Privacy, and then Story. Select Hide Story From to see the list of your followers. To remove their access to the post, tap the circle beside their name.

If you don’t want them to share your story, perform the following:

1. Go to Settings, Privacy, and then Story. Then, go to the bottom part to see the Sharing section.
2. Turn off Allow Resharing to Stories, so users can’t add your posts to their own stories.
3. Turn off Share Your Story to Facebook to also stop your stories from being shared on your Facebook account.

If you want your stories to be visible to specific users only, you can use the Close Friends option. Go to Settings, Privacy, and Story again. Then, tap under the Close Friends section, and add certain users.

Protect Your Instagram Account With Social Catfish

While your Instagram account is initially visible to the public, you can choose to make it private and control how you want to use it. Just remember how to make your Instagram account private with the steps we have presented above. If you think someone’s using a fake Instagram account or is trying to impersonate you, discover who they are using the reverse platform of Social Catfish!