How to Make Your Instagram Photos Private

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: June 6, 2022

This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent people from viewing your Instagram profile. You can do this by setting your Instagram's privacy to "Private", which means people who want to view your account will not be able to do so without first requesting and receiving permission from you. This process won't affect your existing followers. As with most Instagram-related activities, you cannot use the Instagram website to change your account's privacy settings.

1

Open the Instagram app.

Tap the Instagram icon on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. The Instagram app has a multicolored camera icon.

2

Go to your profile.

Tap your profile icon. You'll see it at the bottom-right corner.

3

Tap the "Settings" gear (iPhone) or ⋮ (Android).

This icon is near the top-right corner of the screen on both platforms. This opens your Settings.^{[1]
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4

Scroll down and turn on Private Account.

Tap the Private Account switch to make your account private
to the right. It will turn blue. This signifies that your Instagram account is now private, and thus impossible to see by anyone who you haven't approved.

5

Tap "OK" to save your changes.

Tapping OK confirms your profile change. People who aren't currently following you and who you haven't approved will no longer be able to see your Instagram photos.

Community Q&A

Question

Does this remove or add privacy?

Community Answer

All you're doing is controlling who can and cannot view your profile, thus making it selectively private.
Question

If I make it private on the app will it be private on the desktop too?

Community Answer

Yes, because the desktop version of Instagram is associated with the mobile version.
Question

Can I put privacy on a specific picture on Instagram?

Community Answer

No. Instagram only allows for your whole account to be either public or private, and not specific photos.

Warnings

If you share your private photos on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media, anyone in your friends list will be able to see them.

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