How to Make Your Instagram Account Private

What happens when your account is private

• Only approved followers can see your posts, Reels, and stories.
• Existing followers can still see your content unless you remove or block them.
• People can still find your profile name, bio, and profile photo.
• People may still be able to message you depending on your message request settings.
• Creator and business accounts usually need to switch back to a personal account before they can stay private.

Steps on mobile

1. Open Instagram and tap your profile picture.
2. Tap the menu in the top-right corner.
3. Open Settings and privacy.
4. Tap Account privacy.
5. Turn on Private account.
6. Tap Switch to private if Instagram shows a confirmation sheet.

Steps on desktop

1. Go to Instagram in your browser and sign in.
2. Click More in the bottom-left corner, then click Settings.
3. Click Account privacy.
4. Turn on Private account.
5. Confirm the change if Instagram asks.

Common problems

I do not see the private account option.

Your account may be set to Creator or Business. Switch back to a personal account first, then check Account privacy again.

Existing followers can still see my posts.

That is expected. Remove followers or block accounts if you do not want specific existing followers to see your content.

People can still message me.

Private account settings do not fully control messages. Review message request settings if you want fewer requests.

Are my Reels private too?

Reels on a private account are generally limited to approved followers, but content shared before switching may have different visibility depending on how it was shared.

FAQ

Does a private account hide my profile completely?

No. Your profile name, username, bio, and profile photo can still be visible.

Can I make a business account private?

Instagram generally requires business and creator accounts to be public. Switch to a personal account first.

Will current followers be removed automatically?

No. Current followers stay unless you remove or block them.

Should I hide my story instead?

Use Hide story if you only want to stop specific people from seeing stories, not your full account.

Official source note

Instagram updates menu labels from time to time, but Account privacy is the setting that controls this change on both app and web.