Instagram is a social network that is growing rapidly among the young audience. We all have that one photo or video we want to share with our followers but don’t want everyone on the internet to view it.
If you are a private person and want only people you have allowed to see your posts, here is a simple guide that will help you turn your Instagram account private. We will also show you some additional steps to maintain even more privacy.
Steps to make your Instagram Account private on Android and IOS-
Follow these steps to make your Instagram account private on your mobile devices
Total Time: 2 minutes
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Tap on your profile icon, on the bottom right-hand side corner of the app.
To see this option you will have to login into the Instagram app
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Tap on the three lines on the top right-hand of your app
This will be available on the profile screen of the app.
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Tap on the Settings option and then tap on the privacy option.
To get to this screen tap on the Settings option on the bottom of the app.
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Under Account Privacy section tap on the Private account button.
Here in the privacy screen you can find multiple options to change your privacy settings
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Once you tap on the toggle button, app will show you a dialogue box for a confirmation to turn Instagram account private
Incase you want to make the account public, tap on the same toggle button
Now your Instagram account has been successfully been changed to a private account.
Also read: How to make your Facebook profile private
Steps to make your profile to private on the computer and mobile browser-
If you want to make the changes from your computer or mobile browser there is a way for that as well.
- The first step is to head over to the Instagram website. i.e www.instagram.com on your computer or mobile browser.
- Click on your account avatar on the right-hand corner to open your profile.
- Click on the Settings option (On mobile browser it will be on the top left-hand corner, and on the computer, it will appear once you hover above the avatar on the top right-hand corner.)
- Now click on the Privacy and Security option under the Account section.
- Next, you will see a checkbox under the Account Privacy heading. Click on that first checkbox to change the profile to a Private account.
- Congratulations! Your account has been changed to a private account.
Note: Any private post you share with other social media networks can be seen through the users there depending on the privacy settings of those networks. For example- You are sharing a post from Instagram to your Facebook profile, one can see that post there. However, when they click on the username they cannot see your other posts.
What are the benefits of a private profile?
- A private profile gives you the control to allow who can and who cannot view your posts.
- A user on Instagram who is not your follower can only see your basic information. To view your posts he will have to send you a follow request, Which you can allow or ignore from the activity tab on your app.
How can you make your account even more private?
Now that you have made your Instagram account private, more can be done to make it even more secure and private. Here are the additional steps you can follow –
Removing unwanted followers
Instagram lets you remove the followers in the public account as well as in the private account.
Here to remove a follower you have to tap on your profile icon on the bottom right hand of the app > Tap on the follower’s count > Here you can search for the followers with their name or scroll through the list. To remove a follower tap on the Remove button beside the name of the follower.
Disconnect contact synching
Your contact number may have been attached to your Instagram account at the time of the account creation. It helps Instagram to find friends for you to follow. If you are a person who does not want your phone book data to be used by Instagram. Here are some steps you can follow to remove contact syncing
Tap on the “Settings >Account > Contact Syncing” options. Now tap on the toggle button to disable contact syncing.
Also if you don’t want Instagram to recommend your account to other users, you can make the changes through a computer or mobile browser (Instagram app does not let you do this).
- Click on the “Edit profile” button next to your username on the website.
- Uncheck the “Similar Account Suggestions” option. And click on Submit.
Go through the Privacy section.
You can even make changes to what activity is visible to your followers.
- Activity Status: Here your followers can know when you are active online. To disable activity status tap on “Settings> Privacy> Activity” status. Disable the “Show Activity Status” option.
- Managing Tags: You can also choose who can tag you on their posts. For choosing the option go through “Settings> Privacy> Tags”. Here you can choose whom you allow tags from.
- Comments: You can filter out the comments as well as control them. To make changes go through the same steps and under the Privacy section tap on the “Comments ” option.
Hide stories on Instagram.(“Settings > Privacy > Story” )
Whenever you post stories on Instagram, your followers have the option to share the same using direct messages. Also if you want to hide stories from some followers you can control that as well.
- To stop Resharing your stories from your followers you can disable it under the “Sharing section” by Disabling the “Allow Resharing to Stories” and “Allow Sharing “option.
You can not completely be invisible on Instagram, but if you follow the above steps you can still manage to keep that extra privacy.
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