How To Make IG Private [And Why It Matters]

You might wonder why a well-performing Instagram page like “cred_club“ decides to go private and perform under covers.

This recent shift is a marketing strategy to create FOMO among lurkers and gain a genuine following.

Yes, this decision has some downsides, but wait until you read its advantages!  

We promise to provide you with a detailed guide on how to make IG private. Keep reading!

Can I Make My Instagram Account Private?

If you are 16 years or above, your Instagram account is public by default. On the other hand, if you are less than 16 years of age, your Instagram account is private by default.

In both cases, you will have the option to change between a public or private profile.

Open your IG account and:

1. Head to the settings and privacy column
2. Click on ‘Account Privacy.’
3. Toggle the switch to make your account private.

Remember that personal accounts can make accounts private, not business ones.

So, to convert your brand’s business account to private, you must first convert it to a personal account.

Why Are Some Instagram Accounts Going Private?

Here, we have listed out the reasons why big brands are switching from public accounts to private IG accounts:

• Creates FOMO: We are no strangers to ‘Fear Of Missing Out.’ When you find out that an influencer you are interested in shares content with thousands of followers on its private account, you feel you are missing out on something great. Brands use this feeling to make their followers feel exclusive or special. It also helps them launch new products and understand their audience.
• Increase Followers: If you have a private account and provide valuable content, it brings in more followers and simultaneously makes your current followers stay. People who love your content spread the word, but non-followers can only view that content if they follow you. So, there can be no lurking around or see-and-go. People need to keep following you to enjoy your content regularly. It increases both followers and retention rates.
• Create a Personalised Experience: Everything in a private account becomes a private affair between the owner and the followers. You neither appear in people’s explore, hashtag pages, or reels section. So, there are fewer chances of being reported by people who do not like your content or find it repulsive. Such people can simply unfollow you, and only the interested audience remains. So, you get more freedom to make your Instagram grid layout and create a personalized experience on your private account.

The Pros and Cons of Having a Private Instagram Account

Every story has two sides; we will not hold back any information. Look at the pros and cons of having a private Instagram profile below.

The Pros of a Private Account

• More control on viewership: Allowing limited followers or fans to be in your circle creates a safe space for them and you. Viewership in private accounts can be much higher than in public ones, as your followers feel valued. In addition, you have the control of removing unwanted followers or trollers.
• Less harassment: Online harassment is a significant issue on the social network, and public account holders have limited means to stop that. It affects the environment of your profile and messes with your mental health. So, to take control over who likes, messages, or comments on your content, it is better to switch to a private account.
• Protects privacy: A private account helps protect privacy as your content remains among the people you want. The followers of such accounts feel that the owner is making content especially for them, which makes them more invested in it. So, if your content has value, it’s a win-win.
• Prevents content theft: Content theft is a common problem on the social media platform. It gets hard to track down the original content makers online, while others might exploit their hard work. Plus, in a public account with thousands of people visiting your page daily, you never know who might copy your marketing strategies and content style. So, private accounts help keep your followers in sight.

The Cons of a Private Account

• Restricted reach: Content of private accounts does not appear on people’s explore feed, hashtag pages, or the reels section. So, it kills your chances of being discovered by new and diverse audiences worldwide.
• Spam through DM: Note that your private account can still receive direct spam messages from unknown accounts or people who don’t follow you. The message option is available on your private profile page for everyone. However, there are settings to control this problem.
• Restricted content sharing: Only public account holders can collaborate with other pages or brands and embed their IG posts on other social media platforms. Plus, your followers cannot share your posts on their stories. On the other hand, content sharing is a significant tool to boost reach and increase following, which is impossible with private mode.

You should also know that you cannot make business accounts private on Instagram. They are supposed to stay public if you wish to access the additional tools Instagram provides for business accounts. For example, it provides metrics and account analysis to understand your engagement better.

How to Protect Privacy on Instagram?

Follow these simple steps to get your privacy basics of using Instagram in check:

1. Set your account to private

It is the quickest way to protect your Instagram profile. No one can view your posts, stories, or videos without approval.

People wanting to see your profile must send you a follow request. You can either accept or reject that request.

Moreover, if you already have a follower you no longer want, you can remove them without them knowing.

Just go to your follower list and tap the ‘Remove’ button next to the name of that person/account.

2. Block people from seeing your IG feed

If you have a public account but want to hide your content from certain people, you can visit their profile, tap the ellipsis symbol in the top-right corner, and select the ‘Block’ option from the pop-up menu.

Then, they will not be able to find your Instagram profile; neither will your content appear on their feed. Thus, you can go on being public to others but them.

Another option that you will see in this menu is ‘Restrict.’

Selecting it will restrict that person/account from seeing when you’re online and keep their comments on your posts only visible to you.

3. Get rid of personalized ads

The Instagram ads you receive are based on the engagement on the Meta platform and your browser search. Here’s how to undo this:

1. Open your Instagram profile and tap the hamburger symbol in the top-right corner.
2. Then, from the menu, choose ‘Setting & Privacy’ → Accounts Center→ ‘Ad Preferences’ → ‘Ad Settings.’

We recommend you turn off the first two options – ‘Activity information from ad partners’ and ‘Audience-based advertising.’

This action will stop Facebook from tracking you based on the information it collects outside Instagram.

4. Protect your stories

There are several different ways to protect your Instagram story content. Let me go through them one by one:

• If you don’t want certain people to view your Instagram stories, there is a way for that too. Go to Settings and Privacy→ ‘Who can see your content’→ ‘Hide story and live’→ ‘Hide Story and live from.’ It will open your follower list. Click on the circle beside their name to withdraw access. Instagram will no longer notify of these unselected people or can view your story.
• You can also prevent people from sharing your stories with others. Go to ‘Settings and Privacy’ → ‘How others can interact with you’→ ‘Sharing and remixes’→ Turn off ‘Allow post sharing to stories’.
• You can disable the ‘Share your story to Facebook’ button to limit your stories to Instagram only.
• You can use the ‘Close Friends Feature.’ It is a setting that allows you to make a group from the list of your followers. Instagram will not notify these people of being added or removed from this group. So, the next time you put a story on Instagram, you will get a choice to either make it visible to everyone or just the selected ‘Close Friends.’ You’ll also find an option under Setting and Privacy under “what you see” for hiding the likes you receive on Instagram.

How to Make Instagram Account Private?

Here’s  a step-by-step guide for making your IG account private from the app and desktop:

How to set your account to private from the Instagram app

1. Go to your profile on the Instagram app.
2. Tap the 3-dash symbol in the top-right corner.
3. Click on ‘Settings and Privacy’ from the menu that appears.
4. Scroll down to find ‘Account privacy’ under ‘Who can see your content.’
5. Switch on the ‘Private Account’ button on the next page.
6. Your account is now set to private.

How to set your account to private on your computer or mobile browser

1. Open the Instagram app on your desktop or go to instagram.com on your computer or mobile browser.
2. Log in with your credentials.
3. Click on More in the bottom-left corner.
4. Tap on “Settings,” and under “Edit Profile,” select “Who can see your content.”
5. Check the box next to the ‘Private Account’ column.
6. Your account is now set to private.  

What Happens Now That Your Account Is Set to Private?

Public account holders have a lot of queries on what will happen to their account once it is set to private. Read this section to get answers to those queries:

What information is still public on a private account?

The five things that remain public on a private account are the profile picture, follower and following count, number of posts, bio, and mutual friends.

Moreover, people can also see your likes and comments on others’ posts.

What happens to my follower requests after setting my account from private to public?

All your follow requests automatically get accepted and added to your followers list.

For example, say your private account had 500 followers and 300 pending follow requests.

As soon as you set your account to public, all follow requests will disappear, and your follower count will become 800.

How can someone follow me on Instagram if my account is private?

How can someone follow me on Instagram if my account is private?

They would have first to send you a follow request. Then, you will get a notification of that account that wants to follow you. As per your desire, you can either accept or reject that request. If you accept it, that person will become your follower. If you wish, you can follow them back.

Who can like or comment on my photos and videos?

Everyone who follows you on your private Instagram account can comment on your photos and videos by default.

You can head to the setting column if you want to change this setting.

How to Edit Other Privacy Settings on Instagram?

You can see that there are several setting options available on Instagram. You can change your profile’s engagement and accessibility per your convenience and desire.

So, here are some more privacy settings you might be looking for:

How to make your Instagram stories private

You can hide your stories from certain people or make a ‘Close Friends’ group to keep your stories private.

1. Go to your profile section and head to the 3-dash symbol on the top-right.
2. Select ‘Setting and Privacy’ from the menu.
3. Tap on ‘Privacy’ and select the ‘Story’ column.
4. Below the ‘Hide Story Form’ section, select the people you don’t want to see your stories. (You can deselect them later)
5. Your stories will remain hidden from the selected people/accounts.

If you want to keep some of your stories private among a selected number of friends:

1. Go to your profile and 3-dash menu.
2. Select the ‘Close Friends’ option.
3. Your follower list will appear.
4. Tick the circle next to the account names you want to keep in your ‘Close Friends’ circle.
5. Click ‘ Done’ on the bottom to save these settings.

How to make your Instagram stories private from your story

1. After you have posted a story, open it.
2. Tap in the ‘eye’ symbol on the bottom-left to get the list of people who have viewed your story.
3. Tap on the ellipsis symbol next to the name of the person you don’t want to see your story.
4. Select the ‘Hide story from [username]’ option from the drop-down menu.
5. The selected people can no longer view your story.

How to hide your Instagram story from a location or hashtag page

1. Tap on your story.
2. Click on the ‘eye’ symbol to see the accounts that have viewed your story.
3. If your story is featured on some location or hashtag pages, it will appear at the top of this list.
4. Tap the ‘X’ symbol next to them to remove your story from those pages.  

How Can I Switch from a Private to Public Instagram Account?

If you want to switch your private Instagram account to a public account, follow these steps:

1. First, go to the ‘Settings’ option from your profile section.
2. Next, tap on ‘Privacy.’
3. Finally, toggle the ‘Private Account’ button off.

Wrapping Up

There you go. You now know that making Instagram private helps protect privacy, followers, and peace of mind. It keeps you in control all the time and prevents content theft.

However, remember that a private account may become a hindrance if your goal is to achieve absolute visibility and reach.

To make your IG account private, head to your profile section → Setting → Privacy → Switch the private account button on.