Alex Ruben
How To Conceal Your Following and Follower List on Instagram
Figuring out how to tighten up your Instagram privacy can be kinda confusing, especially if you wanna hide who you’re following or who’s following you. Sometimes the default settings don’t quite do enough, and it’s frustrating because everyone and their grandma can just scroll through your lists. So, this guide is here to help you make your account a little less open, without jumping through crazy hoops. You’ll learn how to switch your account to private, which is the easiest way to cut down on who sees your followers and following lists. The result? Only approved followers can see that stuff, and the creepy (or just plain nosy) people aren’t able to just peek easily.
How to Hide Your Followers & Following Lists on Instagram
Make Your Account Private
This is kind of the main move. When your account’s private, only approved followers get to see your full follower/following lists. On some setups, this works right away, but on others, it might need a couple of tries or a quick restart of the app. Just keep in mind, even if your account is private, your current followers can still see all of that info. The crossover here is that people who aren’t following you won’t get access anymore.
- Login into Instagram and head to your profile (tap the small avatar at the bottom right).
- Tap the three lines (hamburger icon) at the top right.
- Select Settings from the menu (it’s right at the bottom or on the side on some devices).
Navigate to Privacy Settings
- Scroll down a bit until you see Privacy — on some versions, it’s called Privacy and Security.
- Tap that, and then find Account Privacy — it’s usually the first thing you see under privacy options.
Switch on the Private Account Option
- Flip that toggle for Private Account so it turns on (usually a slider or checkbox).
- If it asks for confirmation, just tap Switch to Private.
Once you do this, a lot of the info just gets locked down — non-followers can’t see your following or followers, and your posts are only visible to approved followers. Not sure why, but sometimes this toggle doesn’t work instantly, so closing and reopening the app helps. Or sometimes, you need to sync the change by heading back into your privacy settings just to double-check.
Check and Confirm Your Privacy
- Go back to your profile, then revisit Settings > Privacy to make sure the Private Account toggle is active and saved.
This extra step prevents any accidental flips or missed updates.
Other Things to Keep in Mind & Troubleshooting
- If your followers are still seeing your follower/following list after switching, maybe they’re already following you or the changes need some time to stick. Sometimes, logging out and back in helps.
- Want to go a step further? Adjust who can comment on your posts or who can send you DMs from Settings > Privacy.
- And yeah, even with a private account, your followers can see your lists. If you wanna hide those from everyone, that’s a different ballgame — Instagram doesn’t support hiding lists from followers, only from non-followers.
Wrap-up
Hitting the privacy switch on Instagram isn’t too complicated once you get the hang of it. Making your account private pretty much does the trick. Just remember, no matter what, staying on top of your followers and privacy options helps keep things under control. Sometimes, Instagram’s interface can be a little finicky, so don’t be surprised if toggles don’t work instantly. Rebooting the app or rechecking your settings usually does the trick. Hope this gets one less thing to worry about!
Summary
- Switch to a private account in Settings > Privacy > Account Privacy.
- Check to confirm privacy options are saved and active.
- Review your followers periodically to keep your circle clean.
- Adjust additional privacy settings as needed, like messaging and comments.
Final thoughts
Getting that privacy toggle to behave can be kinda tricky sometimes, but once it’s set, it makes a noticeable difference. Eh, it’s not perfect—followers will still see the lists if you’re already following them or some other quirks—but overall, it keeps non-followers at bay. Just keep an eye on your settings and revisit those permissions now and then. Fingers crossed this helps someone avoid the whole oversharing trap — finally!