How do I set my Instagram account to private so that only approved followers can see what I share?
Keep in mind that business profiles aren't able to make their accounts private. If you want to make your business account private, first switch back to a personal account.
By default, your Instagram account is public and you can choose to make your account private at any time.
When your account is:
  • Public: Your profile and posts can be seen by anyone, on or off Instagram, even if they don’t have an Instagram account.
  • Private: Only the followers you approve can see what you share, including your photos or videos on hashtag and location pages, and your followers and following lists.
Note: If you are under 16 when you sign up for an Instagram account, you’ll have the option to choose between a public or private account, but Private is selected by default.
To make your account private:
Instagram app for Android and iPhone:
  1. Tap profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
  2. Tap more options in the top right, then tap settingsSettings.
  3. Tap Privacy.
  4. Tap next to Private Account to make your account private.
Instagram.com from a computer:
  1. Click your profile picture in the top right corner, then click settingsSettings.
  2. Click Privacy and Security.
  3. Below Account Privacy, click to check the box next to Private Account.
Instagram.com from a mobile browser:
  1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
  2. Tap settingsSettings in the top right.
  3. Tap Privacy and Security.
  4. Below Account Privacy, tap to check the box next to Private Account.
Things to keep in mind about private accounts
  • Private posts you share to social networks may be visible to the public depending on your privacy settings for those networks. For example, a post you share to Twitter that was set to private on Instagram may be visible to the people who can see your Twitter posts.
  • Once you make your account private, people will have to send you a follow request to see your posts, your followers list or your following list.
  • Follow requests appear in Activity, where you can approve or ignore them.
  • If someone was already following you before you set your posts to private and you don't want them to see your posts, you can block them.
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