How to change your instagram to private

When you made an Instagram profile to showcase your company or interact with other professionals in your field, you may have initially opted for a personal account that you can choose to make private or public. While having an Instagram private account offers some security benefits, you might prefer to go public to make your content accessible to more users. Fortunately, Instagram makes it easy to switch your account from private to public. You also have the option to switch to a professional public account that can provide you with marketing and analytical tools.

Comparing Instagram Account Types

Instagram offers both personal and professional accounts, and the privacy options and account features differ for these types.

MailUp mentions that some businesses might forego the professional account since it doesn't have a private option. Instead, they might prefer a personal Instagram account and make it private to protect their privacy, reduce spam and filter followers. However, Instagram public professional accounts include extras such as a contact button, permissions for others to help manage the account, and marketing analytical tools that aren't available for personal accounts.

While public accounts of any type are visible to any non-blocked user and make it easy to reach a large audience, private accounts require a follower request to view. Instagram warns some private posts can still be spread around the web since followers might take a screenshot or download the images and post them online for others to see.

Changing Your Profile to Public

To change your personal Instagram private account to public, Instagram advises you to use either the Instagram website or app. If you have multiple Instagram accounts for your work, be sure to switch to the right one before proceeding with the following steps based on your device:

• Instagram mobile website: Go to your profile tab and click the gear icon on the top of the page. Go to "Privacy and Security" and uncheck the "Private Account" box.

• Instagram mobile app: As with the mobile website, go to your profile tab but proceed by selecting the "Settings" option from the hamburger menu on the top of the app screen. The "Settings" option brings up a list of options where you'll see one for "Privacy." You can then clear the "Private Account" box.

• Instagram desktop website: Click your profile image on the top of the page to show the "Settings" option. Go to the "Privacy and Security" option to find the "Private Account" check box and clear it.

Regardless of which device you use, you'll see a confirmation message in which you need to OK the change to make your Instagram account public. Keep in mind that you can go back to the same check box at any time to set a personal account to private again if you change your mind.

Upgrading to a Professional Account

If you want to move forward with a professional Instagram account, select the "Account" option from the "Settings" in the Instagram app; this feature isn't available through the mobile or desktop website. You'll find an option there to set up or switch to a professional account. If you proceed, you can expect to walk through several steps for filling out your new business profile and linking it to your Facebook page if you have one.

Viewing an Instagram Private Account

If you're on the other side as a user who wants to view someone's private account, Business Insider notes that the easiest option is to use the profile's "Follow" button to send a request to get access. Other options include running a search for the person's Instagram account name to see if any photos have been posted elsewhere or have someone you know who is a follower show you the post.

While you might see a website or app that claims to be a private Instagram viewer, beware of using such a tool. Upleap warns that a private Instagram profile viewer might be a scam that steals your information or infects your device. Even if you gain access to the private profile with one of these services, the images may be low quality or blurry.

If you want to share your content only with followers, it's time to make your public profile to the private one. In this article, we tell you how to switch the privacy settings.

Instagram profiles are public by default. All the Internet users can see someone's photos, videos or watch Lives. However, the platform cares about their users, so they created a feature that allows people to make an Instagram account private. 

Before you turn the settings of your page, let's get deep to understand how a private and  public Instagram accounts are different.

• If an IG page is private, it's possible to find it by username search, but it's impossible to see posts and stories.
• Only followers can see the content, leave comments and like publications.
• If you decide to set your Instagram account to private, nothing will change for your followers.
• As for other Instagram users, they will have to send a request for the following to get access to your profile information. You can approve this request or ignore it.
• Photos with hashtags will be seen in the hashtag search only for your followers. The same applies to location and tags on the photo. But remember, everyone will see the locations you add to your Instagram bio.
• Users who don't follow someone's private account can DM a photo or video. 
• The owner of a private Instagram account can share information from the profile in other social networks. For instance, a link to a private Instagram post will be seen by all the Facebook followers.
• You can switch your profile to the public one at any time.

If your aim is promoting and getting more followers with the help of hashtags and geotags, a private account isn't for you. In this case, targeted advertising or advertising posts from bloggers will help you gain followers.

Often, marketers use a private Instagram profile to track the effectiveness of advertising. They switch their public account to a private one on Instagram, buy ads from a blogger, then track the number of new followers by incoming requests.

However, if you don't want all Instagram users to freely see your posts or if you're annoyed by mass following, a private IG account is a good solution.

You can switch to a private account on Instagram to keep your content hidden from prying eyes using the mobile app or web version.

01. Open Instagram and go to Settings.

02. Tap Privacy.

03. On iPhone: Under Account Privacy, switch to Private Account. On Android: Scroll a little bit down to find Private Account button.

04. Instagram will offer you to get acquainted with detailed information about visibility              management on the official website.

• The application hasn't been updated for a long time. If you can't set your Instagram account to private in the described way, perhaps the reason lies in the fact that the version of the app on your smartphone hasn't been updated for a long time. So, it's time to update it. 
• You're an owner of a business account. It won't be possible to switch to a private Instagram account if you have a business account on Instagram in a simple way. To do this, you will first need to switch to a personal account and only then change your Instagram privacy settings.

To make the account public again, repeat all the same steps.

1. Open Instagram and go to Settings. 
2. Find Privacy. 
3. Tap Account Privacy. 
4. Next to the Private Account, move the slider to the left. 
5. Confirm your actions.

Sometimes bloggers specifically make their Instagram account private. If you want to see someone's account, but it's private, read our article to get to know how to see private accounts.

Reasons:

• Protection from mass complaints. Often accounts are blocked because of them. But the best way is to temporarily block your account if someone purposefully wants to eliminate your account. 
• Advertising from other bloggers. Bloggers advertise your profile. If people are interested in your Instagram profile, they have to follow you to view the content.

If you are just starting to maintain an account, it's better not to make your Instagram account private. 

Increasingly, users of social networks are taking care of the security of their information, restricting the access to your content from prying eyes and leaving a limited number of users in the followers list. Follow directions in the article to change the privacy settings on Instagram.

However, if you are striving for popularity or are planning to become a blogger and monetize your account, this story isn't about you. Develop your account and increase the coverage to reach the goal. If you're wondering why you lose followers, you can find answers here.