Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms today, with more than 1.21 billion users. Users can share photos and videos on this platform, like, view, comment on other people’s posts, and follow their friends and pages in various niches. On average, 95 million photos and videos are shared on Instagram daily. Additional features, such as direct messaging, reels, and stories, add to the endless list of things that users can do on Instagram. They can also connect to other social media accounts and add website links.

Most people aim to get as many followers as possible for different purposes. The design of the application’s algorithm makes it easy to reach target audiences, especially with the use of trends, similar topics, and hashtags. There’s an option to switch to a professional mode for those who want to make their demographics more specific and direct. Therefore, businesses, celebrities, influencers, or anyone who wishes to engage with more people in their posts and updates utilize Instagram.

However, there are also users who want utmost privacy while using their Instagram accounts. Luckily, the platform offers an option for them to set their accounts to private mode.


Why People Set Their Accounts To Private

When Instagram users set their accounts to private, Instagram will hide everything they post from everyone who’s not on their followers’ list. Other people can send requests to them, but they won’t see anything until such users approve of those.

Setting their accounts to private gives such users complete control of anything they share on the platform. Their photos, videos, reels, and stories will only be visible to their followers. Still, the downside of this is limiting their post reach.

People have varied reasons for making their accounts private, which may include the following:

  • Individual users wish to put themselves at lesser risk for spammers, hackers, Internet trolls, and the like.
  • Some businesses want to prevent their brands from engaging with certain demographics that they don’t want to build.
  • Some businesses want protection from anyone who may harass or spam their posts about their products or services.
  • Some users may want to hinder someone from viewing their posts or stories that may contain sensitive information.
  • Some private accounts could also be those of celebrities or famous personalities, which they use for personal matters, separate from their public image.
  • Photographers and artists can protect their artworks by setting their accounts to private, blocking plagiarists and anyone wishing to steal and repost their content.

Content from private accounts, however, will not appear in hashtags or geographic tag feeds. Also, users won’t be able to embed content on their websites, and other people won’t be able to embed the private accounts’ content either. Furthermore, if the private account user is someone who runs Instagram ads, these advertisements lose a lot of potential value as well.

However, it’s essential to note that the private setting doesn’t hide the user’s account activities done on public accounts. If a private account likes a photo or leaves a comment on a photo posted by someone with a public account, such actions will still be visible to the public. Such loopholes in the system, among many others, are the reasons why some are confident that they’d eventually learn how to see private Instagram accounts.


Instagram on smartphone


Reasons Why People Might Want To View Private Instagram Accounts

No privacy setting is 100% secure. There’ll always be loopholes in technology, and there are ways to bypass Instagram private settings and view private posts or watch Stories anonymously.

When someone posts something on the Internet, data are stored in servers and will stay on the Internet forever. And, for an application that makes up 28% of the world’s Internet users, figuring out how to navigate security protocols will always be available. Instagram is constantly updating its security features to keep user accounts protected at all times. Still, practical or third-party applications will always be helpful in such situations.

There are numerous reasons why someone would want to view private Instagram accounts. These may include the following:

  • Businesses want to see their competitors’ strategies. Ways of spying on competitors’ businesses are an unavoidable and practical move, allowing business owners to stay ahead of the game. This tactic may also allow them to access the demographics that their competitors are trying to reach, as well as improve the features of their product or service offerings.
  • Some people wish to view private accounts out of curiosity, whether they know the account’s owner in person or not.
  • For writers, researchers, or reporters who need to find information about a person, they can find it through their social media posts on Instagram.
  • Parents can keep track of their children’s lifestyles and whereabouts, especially if they’re underage, as they may worry about the dangers of the Internet.
  • Employers or recruiters would try to know the prospective employees’ backgrounds by checking their social media posts.
  • Others would want to reach out to the private account’s owner for personal reasons.

Using A Third-Party Application To View Private Instagram Accounts

Third-party applications are modern tools for viewing private accounts on Instagram. Such software can get past security protocols to an extent. You also don’t have to worry as most of these apps are reliable and won’t put anyone at risk.

These applications are available on smartphones, both Android and iOS devices, and some on computers and laptops. The user may even get a notification update about the private account’s post or story, depending on whatever service they wish to avail themselves of. The process is usually quick and easy, and can be done by inputting the Instagram username and confirming the account you want to view.

Some of these apps’ features are:

  • Some of these apps allow parents to check what their kids are doing on Instagram, access conversations and interactions with other users, remotely block sites, recover deleted messages, and track their children’s phones using GPS.
  • You may receive real-time updates about the user’s activities on Instagram. Anytime the private account posts something, a notification will appear on the application.
  • Some of these apps offer information about other users interacting with the account, including their contact information.
  • Such apps allow you to view which accounts they follow and accounts that follow them
  • You may view stories anonymously, and even download photos or videos in high resolution to your device
  • You also get to monitor social media apps, as well as track incoming and outgoing phone calls

However, it’s still essential to be careful about sites that claim to do a lot for free or at a meager price, as this is where phishing and hacking may happen. Check these products’ reliability first to know if they offer legitimate services or only try to hack the user’s account. Some bogus applications may seem believable in providing the services you’re looking for, but may end up stealing information and, worse, hacking and taking complete control of your account.


Viewing Private Accounts In Traditional Ways

Practical ways to view private Instagram accounts are available and may be ineffective. Still, such methods may work if you want to see their photos, videos, reels, or watch stories anonymously.

Some of these simple methods include:

  • Sending a follower request and hoping they approve it. This technique is the simplest as it requires no further effort and ensures anonymity. You can start seeing their posts and stories once the request is accepted.
  • If the user doesn’t want to do that, one may choose to create a fake Instagram account and follow the user using this. Once they accept the follow request, you can access their posts without them knowing it is your account. Users should be wary; however, Instagram may issue a warning or delete your account if someone reports it to be a fake account.
  • If the situation doesn’t permit it, another old-school trick exists—using a friend’s account that follows that private account.
  • Search engines, such as Google, can also show information about private accounts. However, there may not be enough information you can retrieve. You may, sometimes, see their profile photos, as well as publicly tagged or old public posts.
  • And, if you’re persistent, you may look for that person’s other social media accounts and hope that they’re in public mode.

Conclusion

Instagram is one of the leading and most popular social media platforms today. It’s powerful enough to start worldwide trends or garner audiences from any corner of the Internet. With this, the application promises utmost privacy and security to its users, even allowing them to set their accounts to private mode.

In a world that’s constantly interconnected through social media today, privacy should always be a priority. Yet, there’s no 100% guaranteed way to keep any social media account private. There are still ways to view private Instagram accounts, mainly through the help of third-party apps. But, it’s always a must not to cross the line and get and use personal info with the intention to cause harm. Instead, always strive to make Instagram and the whole of social media a happy and secure place to be in!