Instagram is one of the most used social app and site nowadays. Instagram has allowed its users to stay connected with their friends and family. This connection is not only through messaging but also by sharing their life moments in the form of photos and videos. Like any other famous social application, Instagram developers value the privacy of their users and for this reason, Instagram has a well privacy policy. Though there may be many people, like celebrities and politicians or any regular person, who wouldn’t want privacy on their photos and videos.
Instagram has a good privacy set up for both the kind of users mentioned above. It is entirely up to the user, whether they want to keep their Instagram account private or public. If you don’t want someone specific to even know that you are on Instagram, then, you can search them there before they find you and block them. If you don’t want to share your posts with strangers or even acquaintances then, you can be in control of that by making your Instagram account private.
What is a private and a public Instagram Account?
So, basically, a private Instagram account is where the account user gets to decide and by decide, I mean, he or she accepts, or rejects follow requests, one by one. This allows the account user to choose who can and who can not follow them, the decision being entirely up to them. If they accept someone’s follow request, then that person will be allowed to view the photo or video posts and their stories shared. They will be able to like them, and comment on them if the comments are on.
However, in a public Instagram account, the account owner will not get follow requests, meaning, anyone can follow them, view, like, and comment (if the comments are on) and view their stories. There are some similar things between private and public Instagram account though. The similarities are that, only the account user can allow any messages from people they do not follow. The account user gets to turn on and off the comments. The owner of the account gets to delete or archive their posts and delete unwanted comments.
All of what we wrote above was to give you the knowledge of the privacy policy of Instagram and to explain to you what both kinds of Instagram accounts contain in their features. But, what if you wanted to view a private Instagram account? And what if you wanted to view a private Instagram account but by not your own Instagram account? Answers to these questions are not very simple but there are still answers.
How To Make Your Instagram Account Private
Generally speaking, we all should protect our social media accounts, as there is a lot of cyber crime nowadays, from accounts being hacked, to private information being leaked to God knows what! So, it is always better to make your social accounts safe, by using the privacy set ups provided. If it has been a while since you created your Instagram account and left it as a public account or are new to Instagram, then you will find it hard to make your account private. Don’t worry, we will help you switch your public Instagram account to a private one.
Start by opening up the Instagram app on your phone, log into your account. The first screens which pops up is your home screen, you need to tap on the fifth icon, which is in the shape of a person. This screen is your account, your profile. Click on the three dots icon, on the top right corner of your profile. This will take you to a screen which says “Options”. Scroll down the screen until you see the words “Private account”.
Now, if you want to make your Instagram account private, then press on the switch in front of the words “Private account”, this will switch your public account to private. Remember though, the people who already follow you, will keep following you and will be able to see what you post and share. You can remove them from your followers by opening your followers list though.
How to View a Private Instagram Account (the authentic way)
The most straightforward answer to the question, how to view a private Instagram account is, you send that private Instagram account a follow request from your own account, as this is the most legitimate way to view a private Instagram account. If that person knows you and you know them then they will most probably accept your follow request and you will be able to view what they post. If they reject your follow request, then that means that they do not want to share their photos and videos with you. And if they take long to respond then they might be away or are simply keeping you on hold because they do not want you to follow them.
Even if you don’t know them well but have a mutual friend or followers then you can send them a follow request and they might accept your follow request. You can even send them a personal message, requesting them to accept your follow request. Most people who do not know you, might not accept your follow request, as they are worried about their safety and it may not be because of you but because of their knowledge of the crimes going around the world on the internet. So, do not take the rejection of your follow request personally.
How To View a Private Instagram Account (the less authentic way)
If you are really eager to see what the private account user has posted, and whether or not you know them, there is one way which may be criticized but it’ll do the task (probably). If you know that person then, you can make a fake Instagram account, under the name of someone whom they know, and you know too. You can use their photos, not in any way which violates any policies of Instagram, set their photo as your own profile photo on Instagram, so that they can know whom you are impersonating to be. Make a few posts, follow some people, accept some follow requests if your account is private, so that they believe that your account is not a fake one.
If you are not trying to be someone that you both know then just make an account under the name of someone unknown to them but make an attractive account, meaning put up a profile photo of someone attractive, make good posts etc. This way you’ll be able to view a Private Instagram account if they accept your follow request. You can even make an Instagram account about something in which you are interested in or in which they are interested in, gain followers and make posts and then send them a follow requests. All of this is in case, you do not want to follow them through your own personal account or if they do not accept your follow request or if you wish to make another account and want to follow them through the other account.
Be careful with what you do the less authentic way because if there is ill activity by your Instagram account, people may start blocking or reporting your fake Instagram account. Though, through these accounts, you might have a better chance at viewing a private Instagram account than by your own personal account. You can also message them via your fake account and ask them to accept your follow request if they have not done so before. You may not want to keep cancelling and then sending them a follow request again and again or if they reject your follow requests then do not keep sending them follow requests again and again because this might annoy them, and they might block your fake account.
The best and perhaps the most authentic way and answer to the question, how to view a private Instagram account is, follow them by your own personal account because it is not morally right to use someone else’s photos or videos for your own benefit. It is also possible, although very rarely but your fake account, based on the profile photo or the name you use for it, might be seen by the actual person you are impersonating to be or by someone who knows them. They can then report your Instagram account, they might take some serious action against you as well and such things do not end in a good way so always try to do the right thing.
Hopefully, by now, you have enough knowledge about how to view a private Instagram account and about Instagram in general. Even though we have mentioned some not so morally accepted ways to view a private Instagram account, we recommend you to try to avoid these tricks and twisters.
Michelle 
Clarice